THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


The  Story 


EARNEST  LIFE 


A  Woman's  Adventures  in  Australia, 


TV/O  VOYAGES  AROUND  THE  WORLD. 


BY    MRS.    ELIZA    DAVIES. 


'  Life  is  real !     Life  is  earnest ! 
And  the  grave  is  not  its  goal  ; 
Dust  thou  art,  to  dust  returnest. 
Was  not  spoken  of  the  soul." 


CINCINNATI: 

Central  Book  Concern,  No.  i8o  Elm  Strebt. 

1881. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  by 

MRS.  ELIZA  DAVIES. 

In  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D.  C. 


PREFACE. 


For  many  years  I  resisted  the  earnest  entreaties  of  many  friends  to 
write  an  autobiography.  I  did  so  for  two  reasons :  First,  my  inability 
and  inexperience  as  a  writer;  second,  the  pain  which  the  effort  would 
cost  me.  But,  finally,  the  honored  and  lamented  Dr.  Robert  Richard- 
son, of  West  Virginia,  who  was  long  a  co-laborer  of  the  illustrious  Alex- 
ander Campbell,  and  who  knew  me  well,  convinced -me  that  it  was  my 
duty  to  write.  With  many  tears,  I  have  sacrificed  my  feelings  at  the 
shrine  of  duty. 

I  claim  for  my  narrative  no  literary  merit,  but  I  have  tried  to  make 
it  as  accurate  in  statement  as  it  is  sincere  in  design.  It  has  pained  me 
to  be  compelled  to  place  some,  who  were  dear  to  me,  in  an  unfavor- 
able light;  but  the  necessities  of  the  case  demanded  it.  I  have  written 
an  unvarnished  story  of  a  life  of  many  vicissitudes,  hoping  that  my 
readers  may  derive  strength  from  it  under  trials,  temptations,  pain, 
privation,  persecution,  and  exposure.  I  send  it  forth  to  the  world  with 
the  earnest  prayer  that  the  gracious  God — who,  in  all  my  outgoings, 
my  incomings,  and  my  shortcomings,  has  ever  been  my  best  Friend — 
may  make  it  a  blessing  to  all  who  read  it. 


E.   D. 


Georgetown,  Ky.,  December,  1880. 

(iii) 


503411 


DEDICATED 

TO 

The  Pupils  of  the  Kentucky  Female  Orphan  School, 

AT 

MIDWAY,    WOODFORD    COUNTY,     KY. 


Your  privileges  are  more  valuable  than  gold.  Unlike  the  humble  author  of 
this  volume,  you  are  passing  the  days  of  girlhood  in  a  Christian  atmosphere. 
The  Bible  is  in  your  hands — you  are  taught  its  precepts  and  encouraged  to 
obey  them.  Your  teachers  invite  and  exhort  you  to  come  to  Christ,  where 
only  is  safety  for  the  young ;  and  when  you  put  Him  on  in  baptism  you  have 
many  willing  hands  to  help  you.  Prize  highly  your  present  privileges;  and 
may  the  Father  of  the  fatherless  enable  you  to  employ  your  gifts  to  His  glory. 

(iv) 


CONTENTS. 


fAGE. 

Chapter  I. 
My  Childhood  and  Childhood's  Home, 7 

Chapter  II. 
Farewell  to  Scotland, 49 

Chapter  III. 
Life  and  Sufferings  in  New  South  Wales,       .         • 84 

Chapter  IV. 
From  New  South  Wales  to  South  Australia, 103 

Chapter  V. 
An  Exploring  Expedition, 121 

Chapter  VI. 
Sad  Experience  of  Wedded  Life, l6g 

Chapter  VII. 
Return  to  New  South  Wales 203 

Chapter  VIII. 
Return  to  Scotland, 221 

Chapter  IX. 
New  Experiences  in  Scotland, 237 

Chapter  X. 
Farewell  to  Scotland  and  Voyage  to  America, 262 

Chapter  XI. 

\  Life  in  Bethany \ 280 

\ 

Chapter  XII. 

At  the  Kentucky  Female  Orphan  School, 296 

Chapter  XIII. 
Plantation  Life  in  the  South, 310 

Chatter  XIV. 
Preparing  to  Leave  America,      .........       3^2 

(V) 


yi  CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

Chapter  XV. 
Second  Voyage  to  New  South  Wales, 334 

Chapter  XVI. 

My  Reception, •     ♦  346 

Chapter  XVII. 
Teaching  on  Ilunicane  Hill,  and  Other  Labors 3^0 

Chapter  XVIII. 

Voyage  to  South  Australia, •        •  40" 

Chapter  XIX. 
Return  to  New  South  Wales,  and  Teaching  in  the  Bush,  .         .         .       43° 

Chapter  XX. 
The  New  School-house, •  455 

Chapter  XXI. 
The  New  System 5°! 

Chapter  XXII. 
Third  Voyage  to  South  Australia,  and  Teaching  in  Adelaide,       ..         .  527 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 
Voyage  to  America, 553 


^lie  Htoi^  of  hi[  T[hi'T[Q^t  I^ife. 


CHAPTER  I. 

MY  CHILDHOOD  AND  CHILDHOOD'S  HOME. 

I  WAS  born  at  Paisley,  in  Scotland.  This  town  is  interesting  to  me, 
not  only  as  my  birth-place,  but  as  the  site  of  an  ancient  abbey,  with 
its  ruined  monastery,  and  the  historic  Palace  of  Balgowny;  ai^d,  within 
a  radius  of  three  miles  around  it,  are,  the  birth-place  of  Sir  William 
Wallace,  the  ruins  of  Cruikstone  Castle,  and  various  other  ruins  of 
historic  interest.  These  all  add  a  charm  to  the  dear  old  town.  When 
very  young,  I  lost  my  father — a  loss  I  did  not  realize.  I  remember  him 
only  as  he  lay  in  his  coffin,  ready  to  be  carried  to  his  last  resting-place. 
My  mother  was  young,  pretty,  gay,  and  fond  of  society,  and  she  was 
soon  married  again  to  one  who  had  loved  her  ere  she  saw  my  father. 

All  through  my  childhood's  loving  years  my  heart  yearned  for  her 
love.  Nothing  could  eclipse  my  mother  in  my  affection;  but  she  would 
have  none  of  my  homage — she  turned  away  from  my  caresses  with  in- 
difference, and  my  love  was  thrown  back  on  my  own  heart.  Many 
and  bitter  are  the  tears  I  have  shed,  when,  with  open  arms,  I  would 
run  to  my  mother  and  ask  her  to  kiss  me,  and  she  would  thrust  me 
from  her.  I  was  sent  to  school  at  a  very  tender  age,  but  my  education 
did  not  wholly  depend  on  master,  pastor,  or  parent.  There  is  a  spirit 
of  independent  knowledge  pervading  the  very  atmosphere  we  l^reathe 
in  Scotland.  All  ranks  of  people  inhale  it.  We  are  susceptible  to  the 
charms  of  beauty  long  before  wc  can  reason  about  it.  Nature's  cloud- 
pictures  in  the  sky  attract  us,  and  the  gold-brocaded  carpet  of  emerald 
that  covers  the  earth.  The  foundations  of  my  education  were  laid 
among  the  heather-clad  hills,  rippling  brooks,  and  glassy  lakes  of  bon- 
nie  Scotland.     Alone  in  hollow  caves,  worn  by  the  resistless  billows, 

(vii) 


8  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

and  on  naked  crags,  have  I  very  often  stood,  oppressed  with  thought 
and  with  yearnings  for  something  yet  unknown.  I  had,  as  a  gift  from 
the  Creator — a  precious  gift — a  love  of  the  beautiful.  It  has  impressed 
on  my  mind  forms  both  animate  and  inanimate,  and  memory  brings 
back  the  picture  fresh  to  my  mental  vision.  My  imagination  was  early 
stimulated  by  the  legends  of  the  mountains. 

Maggie  Campbell,  my  highland  nurse,  took  me  at  an  early  age  to 
visit  her  mountain  home  in  the  Western  Highlands,  amid  deep,  dark 
glens,  and  bonnie  wee  burns,  with  their  rush  and  roar  as  they  ap- 
proached the  precipice  and  dashed  over  in  tiny  cascades.  Oh !  how  I 
wished  to  be  old  enough  to  read  all  the  romantic  histories  of  all  the 
people  who  had  lived  in  the  ruined  piles  of  ancient  grandeur,  which 
we  passed  on  the  banks  of  the  beautiful  Clyde.  Maggie  was  full  of 
highland  lore,  and,  though  her  narratives  were  greatly  tinged  with  re- 
ligious romance,  I  loved  to  listen  to  her  broken  English.  She  told  me 
of  the  brave  Wallace,  as  we  passed  the  rock  on  which  stands  Dumbar- 
ton Castle.  As  we  sailed  into  the  Firth,  and  passed  the  historic  isles 
of  Arran  and  Bute,  my  admiration  was  unbounded.  We  sailed  up 
Loch  Fyne,  celebrated  for  its  "callar  herrin"  (fresh  herrings),  and 
landed  at  the  Gaelic  Town  of  Loch  Gilphead  —  my  nurse's  birth- 
place, and  the  home  of  her  mother,  Luckie  Campbell,  and  her  brother, 
Lachie.  (Luckie  means  mother,  or  old  woman.)  She  had  three  mar- 
ried sisters,  who  lived  high  up  among  the  hills,  whose  husbands  were 
farmers  and  fishermen.     But  more  of  them  anon. 

Maggie  grew  sick,  and  while  she  was  being  most  affectionately 
nursed  by  her  mother,  her  brother  Lachie  (Lachlan)  would  carry  me 
to  the  sea-shore,  and  sit,  or  walk,  or  gather  sea-weed  and  dulce  and 
shells,  as  best  suited  my  humor.  On  these  occasions  he  would  tell  me 
tales  of  the  hills  and  their  inhabitants,  which  charmed  me.  I  was  ever 
ready  to  listen  to  tales  of  "brave  men  and  bonnie  leddies,"  from  what- 
ever source.  My  good  and  faithful  nurse  told  her  mother  that  she  had 
come  home  to  die,  but  dear  old  Luckie  could  not  believe  that  her 
Maggie  should  die.  Nevertheless,  she  passed  away  to  the  better  land, 
and  was  laid  down  in  a  small  picturesque  graveyard,  on  a  hillside  over- 
looking Loch  Fyne.  My  love  for  Maggie  was  deep  and  sincere,  and 
when  she  was  hidden  from  my  sight  forever,  I  shed  many  tears  for  the 
loss  of  my  dear  friend.  She  seemed  to  have  left  a  legacy  of  love  to 
each  of  her  sisters,  her  mother,  and  her  brother,  to  be  lavished  on  me, 
"the  bonnie  wee  toon  lassie,"  as  they  chose  to  call  me.  After  one 
of  my  rambles  with  Lachie  on  the  beach,  I  ran  up  to  the  house  which 


MY  CHILDHOOD  AND  CHILDHOOD'S  HOME.  9 

Stood  near  by,  and  the  first  thing  which  attracted  my  attention  was  an 
elegant  crimson  velvet  bonnet,  hanging  on  a  nail,  with  a  Prince  of 
Wales  ostrich  plume  on  it.     I  exclaimed, 

"That  is  my  mother's  bonnet;  who  brought  it  here?" 

"Your  mother!"  said  a  quiet  voice  behind  me.  I  turned  and  saw 
my  mother,  and  would  have  embraced  her,  had  she  allowed  me.  On 
hearing  of  the  death  of  her  faithful  servant,  she  had  come  for  me.  I 
was  glad  to  see  my  mother,  but  sorry  to  leave.  They  made  an  agree- 
ment that  I  should  spend  some  weeks  every  summer  among  the  hills. 
This  agreement  gave  me  great  delight,  and  many  of  the  happiest  days 
of  my  childhood  were  those  that  I  spent  in  the  highlands  during  my 
yearly  visits. 

Loch  Gilphead  lies  at  the  head  of  the  Loch  Gilp,  nestling  at  the 
foot  of  a  high  hill.  At  this  place  the  Crunnan  Canal  cuts  through  the 
Peninsula  of  Cantyre,  and  joins  Loch  Fyne  to  the  Sound  of  Jura. 
This  canal  is  cut  through  the  midst  of  the  wildest  and  most  beautiful 
scenery,  and  it  is  full  of  locks.  Here  I  saw  what  was  entirely  new  to 
me — the  canal  boats  going  into  and  out  of  the  basins  formed  by  the 
locks.  I  expressed  a  wish  to  board  one  of  the  boats  and  pass  through 
the  locks,  and  when  I  felt  myself  floating  down  on  a  body  of  water  into 
an  empty  basin,  and  rise  up  again,  I  thought  I  had  gained  a  wonder- 
ful experience. 

Luckie  and  Lachie  took  me  to  visit  the  other  members  of  the  family, 
who  lived  amid  the  mountains.  We  started  in  an  odd-looking  little 
carriage,  drawn  by  two  little  shaggy  Shetland  ponies,  on  a  bright, 
breezy  day;  and,  when  we  arrived  at  our  destination,  I  was  left  among 
a  people  who  could  not  speak  one  word  of  English,  except  Luckie 
Campbell's  family,  who  had  all  sojourned  in  the  Lowlands,  and  had 
learned  the  language  and  manners  of  a  higher  civilization. 

These  hardy  Scots  are  happy  and  contented,  simple  and  virtuous. 
Their  highest  happiness  is  to  serve  God,  and  horior  their  Queen,  and 
obey  the  laws  of  their  country.  The  women  and  boys  attend  to  the 
small  farms,  while  the  men  go  out  on  the  stormy  Loch  Fyne  to  catch 
their  far-famed  herrings. 

Our  shaggy  Shetlands  drew  us  several  miles  through  wild  and  ro- 
mantic scenery,  till  we  came  to  the  foot  of  a  high  mountain,  where  we 
had  to  leave  them  and  take  to  our  feet.  We  climbed  and  wound  round 
and  up  on  a  sheep  track,  or  narrow  pathway,  through  the  heather,  till 
we  reached  a  little  plateau  half  way  up  the  mountain.  On  this  plateau 
stood,  nestling  close  together,  a  number  of  curious-looking  buildings, 


lO  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

in  sliape  much  like  square  hay-stacks,  with  conical  roofs.  They  were 
built  of  unhewn  stones,  cemented  with  mud,  and  thatched  with  heather, 
so  that  in  the  distance  they  were  not  distinguishable  from  the  hill  be- 
hind them.  I  asked  what  these  buildings  were  for.  Luckie  said: 
''That's  Mary's  hoos  in  the  middle,  that's  the  byre,  and  this  is  the 
dairy  beside  it."  Just  then  the  "hoos"  sent  up  through  and  among 
the  heather  a  blue  column  of  curling  vapor  (peat  reek),  which  declared 
it  to  be  a  human  habitation.  We  entered  the  sheeling  by  a  low  door- 
way, and  an  opening  with  a  wooden  shutter  served  for  a  window.  The 
room  was  full  of  peat  reek,  so  that  for  some  time  we  could  see  nothing. 
In  the  middle  of  the  floor  a  large  place  was  hollowed  out,  about  one 
foot  deep  and  four  in  diameter,  in  the  center  of  which  was  placed  a 
round,  portable  grate,  filled  with  peat,  burning  brightly,  from  which 
arose,  in  a  great  volume,  the  peat  reek.  A  hole  in  the  conical  roof 
was  intended  for  its  escape;  but,  ere  it  made  its  exit,  it  went  curling 
over,  and  around,  and  through  everything,  till  the  house  was  filled  and 
the  inmates  looked  smoke-dried.  Around  the  one  large  room,  which 
constituted  the  house,  were  bunks,  one  above  another,  with  sliding 
doors  in  front.  These  were  beds  for  the  family,  their  servants  and 
visitors.  When  the  family  were  about  to  retire  for  the  night,  "the 
Book"  was  handed  to  the  father,  who  reverently  read  from  it  in  Gaelic. 
The  family  then  sang  a  Gaelic  psalm,  and  the  father  prayed  in  the 
same  tongue.  They  were  reverently  religious,  and  whether  they  lay 
down  in  the  recesses  around  the  room,  or  went  to  their  fishing-boats, 
to  be  rocked  on  the  stormy  Loch,  dark  and  dreary  as  it  often  was,  they 
committed  themselves  to  the  care  of  Him  who  neither  slumbers  nor 
sleeps;  of  Him  whose  chosen  friends  were  fishermen  while  He  sojourned 
upon  earth.  A  cruse  of  oil  hung  from  the  rafters  to  give  light  to  the 
household;  and  when  one  wished  to  retire,  he  had  only  to  disappear 
behind  the  sliding-doors  of  the  bunk.  I  was  very  much  interested  in 
their  primitive  mode  of  serving  and  eating  food.  At  breakfast,  oat- 
meal porridge,  in  a  large  wooden  trencher,  was  placed  upon  a  long, 
low  table;  another  trencher,  filled  with  the  richest,  creamiest  milk, 
such  as  only  Highland  cows  can  give,  was  placed  beside  it;  a  large  pile 
of  oatmeal  bannocks  stood  also  on  the  table;  and  a  heap  of  cutty 
(horn)  spoons  also  adorned  it.  This  was  all.  The  family  brought  their 
"creepy  stools"  (low  stools)  up  to  the  side  of  the  table,  each  took  a 
spoon,  and  all  supped  from  the  same  trencher.  This  mode  of  eating 
seemed  to  me  so  funny  that  I  laughed  out  several  times ;  but  I  man- 
aged to  eat  a  good  breakfast.     At  dinner,  I  did  not  succeed  so  well. 


MY  CHILDHOOD  AND  CHILDHOOD'S  HOME.  H 

In  one  trencher  was  an  immense  heap  of  dry,  mealy,  red-coated, 
laughing  potatoes;  in  the  other  a  heap  of  the  most  tempting  herrings, 
all  smoking  hot;  and  a  pile  of  salt  on  the  table  between  the  trenchers. 
No  table-cloth,  knife,  fork,  or  plate  to  be  seen.  After  grace  was  said, 
each  one  took  a  potato  in  his  hand,  drew  a  fish  by  the  tail  to  his  side 
of  the  table  with  his  horny  hand,  peeled  his  potatoes  with  his  fingers, 
and  ate  his  fish.  I  took  one  of  the  rosy  bulbs  in  my  hand,  but  I  could 
not  peel  it  with  my  fingers.  I  tried  my  teeth,  but  I  had  to  drop  it. 
Good  and  tempting  as  the  herrings  were,  I  did  not  like  them.  I  said 
nothing,  and  should  have  gone  dinnerless  had  not  Mary,  the  mistress, 
come  to  my  help.  She  spread  a  clean,  coarse  towel  on  a  "  muckle 
kist"  (large  chest),  put  some  potatoes  on  a  plate,  took  out  from  her 
Lowland  treasures  a  knife  and  fork,  gave  me  a  basin  of  rich  milk  and  a 
boiled  egg — and  I  feasted  like  a  queen. 

In  harvest-time,  women  and  children  are  all  busy  with  their  reaping- 
hooks,  cutting  the  grain.  I,  among  the  rest,  with  my  kilted  coat,  and 
wee  jupe,  attempted  to  shear  the  grain;  but,  instead,  I  cut  my  fingers, 
and  dropped  the  hook  for  aye.  Some  of  the  wild  mountain  children 
were  very  beautiful,  with  black,  curling  hair  falling  over  broad,  white 
brows,  lustrous  black  eyes,  and  white,  pearly  teeth,  with  only  kilt  and 
jacket  on,  showing  to  advantage  their  well-shaped  limbs.  The  little 
Gaelic  that  I  had  learned,  enabled  me  to  gather  a  group  of  these  un- 
tamed children  around  me,  at  times.  To  them  I  would  recite,  "A 
chieftain  to  the  Highlands  bound;"  but,  as  they  did  not  understand 
one  word,  I  was  not  very  edifying  to  them.  They  would  stand  open- 
mouthed  for  awhile,  with  staring  eyes,  apparently  very  attentive.  All 
at  once  they  would  break  and  run,  chattering  in  Gaelic  to  their  hearts' 
content,  leaving  me  all  alone  in  my  glory.  They  seemed  afraid  of  me 
and  my  strange  tongue.  Thus  left  alone,  I  would  stand  and  meditate, 
or  climb  to  the  top  of  the  highest  mountain,  till  the  spirit  of  solitude 
would  fill  my  whole  being.  Sometimes,  when  standing  on  the  brow 
of  a  hill,  or  the  face  of  a  cliff,  or  a  projecting  rock,  I  would  startle  the 
reapers  below  with  the  sound  of  my  voice,  reciting  a  piece  of  prose  or 
poetry.  They  would  look  up  and  around,  but  could  not  see  me,  or 
find  whence  the  voice  came.  This  delighted  me.  My  mountain  friends 
marveled  much  at  the  fearlessness  of  the  "wee  toon  lassie,"  with  her 
white  skin,  golden  curls  and  slender  form.  I  was  in  my  element.  The 
mountain  breezes  bronzed  my  pale  face,  and  climbing  the  rugged  hills 
gave  my  fragile  form  health  and  strength,  while  exploring  the  smaller 
glens,  gave  me  courage. 


12  Tin:  STORY  or  an  earnest  life. 

Twa  boniiie  lassies  were  Kate,  with  her  sparkling  black  eyes,  her 
rosy  lips  and  white  teeth,  and  her  raven  hair  coiled  round  her  well- 
shaped  head;  and  Mary,  with  her  lint-white  locks  and  bonnie  blue 
een.  The  fresh  breezes  and  peat  reck  had  bronzed  their  faces;  they 
were  full  of  robust  health  and  lithe  of  limb,  and  merry  as  the  morn- 
ing. Well,  these  two,  one  wet,  drizzling  morning,  were  going  some 
distance  to  take  flax  out  of  a  peat  hole,  where  it  had  rotted,  in  order 
lo  have  it  spread  out  to  dry.  I  wished  to  go  with  them,  as  the  place 
where  they  were  going,  and  the  thing  they  were  going  to  do,  were  alike 
new  to  me;  but  they  positively  refused  to  take  me.  I  felt  crest-fallen 
at  this,  but  I  begged  very  hard  to  go. 

"No,  no!"  they  said;  "the  wee  toon  lassie  will  tak'  cold  and  be 
sick,  an'  she  must  na  gang." 

I  protested,  and  at  last  prevailed  upon  them  to  take  me.  I  doffed  my 
shoes  and  stockings  and  frock,  donned  a  kilted  coat  and  jupe,  and  with 
a  tartan  plaid  over  my  head,  pinned  under  my  chin,  crossed  on  my 
breast  and  fastened  behind,  leaving  my  limbs  all  free,  I  started  off,  full 
of  glee,  with  my  two  companions. 

We  crossed  the  wee  burn,  that  rippled  by  the  cottage-door,  dancing 
on  its  joyous  way.  I  often  sat  beside  this  burn,  with  naked,  idle  feet, 
dashing  and  splashing  the  tiny  wavelets,  as  quiedy  they  glided  on  their 
way  to  the  mountain's  brow.  It  served  for  a  laver  to  the  cottagers. 
But  the  contrast  between  the  rippling  brook  on  sunshiny  days,  and  the 
rushing,  roaring  cataract  that  I  saw  tumbling  over  the  cliff  this  rainy 
day,  was  very  great.  We  had  to  cross  a  large  bog,  and  to  see  my  two 
guides  hop,  skip  and  jump,  leaping  and  laughing  over  this  bog,  would 
have  delighted  me,  had  I  been  able  to  follow  them.  My  little  feet  got 
entangled  among  the  twigs,  and  I  fell  and  called  for  help.  The  two 
lithe  figures  bounded  back,  each  caught  a  hand,  and  landed  me  safe  on 
the  other  side.  They  advised  me  to  turn  back,  but  this  I  would  not 
do.  One  difficulty  was  overcome,  and  another  presented  itself.  A 
big  "stanedyke"  (high,  stone  wall)  had  to  be  climbed  over.  This  I 
managed  to  do  without  help,  and  then  climbed  a  precipitous  rock;  and, 
when  rounding  the  projecting  point  of  the  mountain,  my  heart  almost 
stood  still  at  the  sight  of  a  deep,  dark  abyss,  into  which  tumbled  sev- 
eral angry,  swollen  mountain  torrents.  We  had  to  walk  on  the  almost 
perpendicular  face  of  a  mountain,  overlooking  the  wildest  glen  I  had 
yet  seen.  I  was  told  if  my  head  turned  dizzy,  to  look  up  and  hold  to 
the  twigs  that  grew  out  of  the  face  of  the  wall  which  rose  high  above 
us  on  the  other  side. 


MY  CHILDHOOD  AND  CHILDHOOD'S  HOME.  IJ 

I  took  heed  to  my  instructions,  and  it  was  well  for  me  that  I  did ; 
for  one  false  step  and  destruction  was  inevitable.  I  held  to  the  twigs 
of  heather,  and  looked  up  to  the  beetling  crags  above  me;  and,  though 
dark  and  frowning,  they  enabled  me,  by  keeping  my  eye  fixed  above, 
to  move  along  with  firm  foot  and  steady  head.  The  pathway  was  nar- 
row and,  in  some  places,  slippery;  but,  chamois-like,  we  made  our 
way  in  safety  to  our  destination.  The  peat  hole  was  full  of  water  and 
bundles  of  flax.  Katy  stepped  lightly  upon  one  of  the  bundles  of  flax, 
and,  balancing  herself,  she  began  to  throw  out  the  bundles  to  Mary, 
who  caught  them  and  drew  them  to  the  solid  ground.  I  admired  the 
ease  and  grace  with  which  Katy  lifted  and  threw  the  bundles  out,  and 
I  wished  to  imitate  her.  So  I  stepped  lightly  upon  one  of  the  movables, 
balanced  myself,  and  was  proud  of  my  feat;  but  my  triumph  was  short 
lived.  I  stooped  to  lift  a  bundle,  but  found  it  too  heavy ;  so  I  tried 
to  push  it  to  shore,  instead  of  which  I  pushed  the  bundle  from  under 
my  feet* and  fell  splash  into  deep  water,  and  would  soon  have  been 
drowned  had  not  Mary,  who  was  watching  me,  caught  hold  of  the 
bundle  that  my  hands  clutched,  then  caught  my  hands,  and  pulled  me 
out.  We  left  for  home  as  soon  as  all  the  flax  was  landed,  taking  a 
longer  and  less  dangerous  road  on  our  return.  I  was  wet  and  weary, 
but  next  morning  I  arose  well  in  body  and  happy  to  think  of  my  ad- 
venture. 

A  messenger  from  I.och  Gilphead  brought  a  letter  from  my  mother, 
recalling  me  home.  With  regret,  I  parted  from  these  hardy  Highlanders. 
They  were  loving  and  kind  to  me — they  petted  and  indulged  me,  and 
I  loved  them  dearly. 

On  reaching  home,  I  found  my  mother  preparing  to  make  a  visit  to 
friends  in  the  Emerald  Isle,  on  which  I  was  to  accompany  her.  We  rowed 
in  a  boat  three  miles  down  the  river  Cart,  and  then  embarked  in  the 
steamer  Fingal,  which  steamed  down  the  Clyde,  The  Fingal  was  a  fast 
boat,  and  we  expected  in  twelve  hours  from  the  time  we  left  Greenock 
quay,  to  steam  up  Belfast  lough.  But  we  reckoned  without  the  storm 
spirit,  as  the  sequel  will  show.  We  were  six  days  in  reaching  our  des- 
tined port.  We  had  a  delightful  sail  down  the  Clyde,  under  sunny  .skies 
and  amid  romantic  scenery,  till  we  reached  Greenock.  Here  we  took 
in  the  last  of  our  cargo,  which  was  .several  puncheons  of  Scotch  whisky 
and  several  barrels  of  Jamaica  rum.  These  were  lashed  to  the  deck. 
Every  portable  thing  was  secured,  and  we  set  sail  with  a  motley  crowd 
on1)oard;  Irishmen  with  crownless  hats,  and  wisps  of  straw  tied  round 
them,  and  the  like  ornamental  band  tied  round  their  trousers  under  the 


14  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

knee.  These  were  rough,  rowdy  Romanists,  all  drinking,  swearing 
and  swaggering,  brandishing  the  whisky-bottle  and  the  shillaly.  Irish 
women,  with  long,  blue  cloaks  on,  all  wearing  "mutches"  (caps)  more 
or  less  dirty.  These  poor  creatures  had  been  harvesting  for  the  Low- 
landers  of  Scotland,  and  with  their  earnings  half  spent  on  whisky  and 
tobacco,  were  returning  to  their  half-starved  families  with  what  remained. 
They  were  a  sorry  lot  of  deck-passengers.  Wind  and  tide  were  with 
us  for  an  hour  or  two,  when  the  wind  veered  round,  and  rising  gradu- 
ally, burst  into  a  furious  gale.  The  pent-up  waters  between  the  islands 
Bute  and  Cumbray  and  the  main  land  began  to  seethe  and  surge,  and 
became  so  boisterous  that  we  were  driven  hither  and  thither,  in  spite 
of  all  the  steam  we  could  get  up.  The  clouds  poured  down  their  con- 
tents, not  in  drops  but  in  streams.  The  lightning  flashed,  and  louder 
roared  the  thunder,  and  darker  and  darker  grew  the  night.  Then  a 
cry,  louder  than  the  storm,  came  from  the  lookout,  "Breakers  ahead!" 
We  had  to  "bout  ship"  in  a  hurry  to  escape  the  Crag  of  Ailsa,  a 
huge  rock  over  i,ooo  feet  high,  near  the  middle  of  the  Firth,  as  it 
opens  into  the  North  Channel.  This  rock  is  the  terror  of  all  coasters, 
as  round  it  the  waters  whirl  and  break,  and  the  foam  rises,  at  times,  to 
a  great  height.  My  mother,  instead  of  going  to  the  cabin  when  the 
other  passengers  went,  sat  down  under  an  awning  that  was  spread 
over  a  handsome  carriage  that  was  lashed  to  the  deck.  There  she  sat 
till  all  the  cabin-doors  were  fastened,  ^d  the  hatches  battened  down. 
So  we  were  compelled  to  stay  on  deck.  And,  oh !  what  cursing  and 
praying  to  the  Virgin  Mary  was  going  on  in  the  forward  part  of  the 
boat,  among  the  Irish.  It  was  perfectly  awful.  There  was  one  drunken 
priest.  He  was  praying  to  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  made  strange  prom- 
ises to  her  if  she  would  save  them.  The  waves  seemed  to  grow  wilder 
as  the  night  grew  darker.  The  sea  broke  over  us  every  now  and  then. 
At  times,  I  was  sitting  to  my  waist  in  water.  One  tremendous  wave 
broke  over  the  ship,  carrying  away  her  bulwarks  and  every  thing  that  had 
not  been  well  secured.  At  that  moment,  my  mother's  perilous  condi- 
tion was  discovered  by  one  of  the  officers,  who  dragged  her,  half  dead, 
to  one  of  the  side  cabins,  and  shut  her  in.     She  could  only  say, 

"  My  child!  "  The  man  came  back  to  where  I  was  coiled  up,  and  feel- 
ing with  his  feet,  picked  up  a  bundle  and  thrust  it  into  the  cabin  beside 
my  mother,  saying: 

"If  that's  your  child,  well;  if  not,  it's  gone."  All  the  lashings  gave 
way,  and  I  had  scarcely  been  lifted  from  under  the  carriage  when  it 
was  washed  clean  overboard.    The  whisky  and  rum  puncheons  broke 


MY  CHILDHOOD  AND  CHILDHOOD  S  HOME.  15 

loose,  were  staved  in,  and  hundreds  of  gallons  of  the  burning  liquid 
flooded  the  decks.     The  fearful  cry, 

"Fire !  fire !"  was  heard.  The  spirits  had  found  a  way  to  the  furnaces, 
and  all  was  quickly  ablaze.  But,  fortunately,  the  fire  was  soon  quenched 
by  the  seas  that  swept  over  us,  and  the  liquor  was  washed  overboard  into 
the  sea.  Mother  and  I  sat  cold,  and  wet,  and  sea-sick  in  the  little,  dark 
cabin;  the  stewardess  could  not  get  to  us.  All  through  that  night 
of  terror  we  were  cooped  up.  I  had  no  feeling  of  fear,  but  I  thought 
we  must  be  drowned.  I  was  happy  to  be  beside  my  mother.  Day- 
light came,  and  showed  us  our  shattered  condition,  and  also  our  danger. 
The  chopping  sea  and  shifting  wind  would  not  allow  us  to  steer  past  the 
Crag  of  Ailsa,  and  now  it  was  full  in  sight,  with  breakers  roaring 
around  it.  A  fearful  sweep  of  the  gale  drove  us  right  past  it;  on  and 
on  we  were  driven  before  the  fury  of  the  tempest,  helpless  enough, 
with  broken  spars  and  sails  rent  to  ribbons,  and  the  pumps  hard  at 
work.  The  ship  could  not  keep  her  course,  but  was  still  driven  on, 
past  the  Mull  of  Galloway,  into  the  Irish  Sea.  But  we  could  not  cross 
the  North  Channel,  in  the  teeth  of  such  a  gale,  in  our  shattered  con- 
dition. We  tried  to  find  a  place  of  shelter;  we  turned  to  look  for 
Loch  Ryan.  Just  as  we  were  about  to  double  Corsewell  Point,  our 
engines  suddenly  stopped. 

"The  boilers  will  burst,  or  are  bursting,"  was  the  next  agonizing  cry. 
Our  mast,  rudder,  sails,  bulwarks,  all  gone,  and  our  engines  stopped; 
we  were  entirely  at  the  mercy  of  the  wind  and  waves.  Another  night 
of  gloom  had  gathered  round  us;  but  not  before  we  had  seen  the  high 
and  frowning  rocks,  and  the  jagged  shingles  shelving  under  the  waves 
or  lifting  their  pointed  summits  above  the  breakers  of  this  dangerous 
headland. 

"  We  are  doomed,'^  cried  the  master  of  the  ship,  as  he  heard  the  roar 
of  the  breakers  on  the  thousand  broken  fragments  of  rock  that  former 
tempests  had  riven  from  the  parent  cliff.  Blue  lights  were  hung  out; 
rockets  were  sent  up  into  the  darkness,  and  the  minute  gun  was  fired 
— all  signals  of  distress.  We  were  in  momentary  expectation  of  hear- 
ing and  feeling  the  last  dreadful  crash,  when  all  would  have  sunk  into 
eternal  silence.  But  it  did  not  come.  Whether  the  Virgin  Mary 
heard  the  prayers  and  strange  promises  of  her  votary,  the  drunken 
priest,  or  not,  she  received  full  credit  for  saving  her  worshipers;  and, 
through  their  prayers,  the  ship  and  all  the  heretics  on  board.  A  large 
steamer  had  run  into  the  loch  for  shelter  that  day;  she  saw  the  rockets, 
and  heard  our  signals  of  distress,  while  she  rode  at  anchor  in  safety. 


1 6  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

She  quickly  weighed  anchor,  came  to  our  rescue,  and  tOTTCtl  ns  inside 
to  a  safe  anchorage  opposite  the  town  of  Cairn,  about  two  miles  from 
the  shore.  The  sudden  stopping  of  our  engines  was  caused  by  a  little 
fish,  which  accidentally  got  jammed  into  the  conduit,  and  cut  off  the 
sujDply  of  water  to  the  boilers.  Many  a  curse  was  hurled  at  the  little 
fish,  while  the  pipes  were  being  cut  open  to  thrust  him  out. 

As  soon  as  we  anchored,  our  only  boat  was  lowered  to  take  the  pas- 
sengers ashore.  My  mother  was  one  of  the  first  to  go  ashore  :  she  left 
me  on  board  to  wait  her  return.  I  watched  the  boat  as  it  rose  high, 
and  then  sank  out  of  sight  behind  the  billows.  I  feared  several  times 
that  she  had  gone  down  to  rise  no  more;  but  up  she  came  again  and 
finally  she  touched  the  shore.  Mother,  hearing  that  the  vessel  would 
remain  a  day  or  two,  sent  for  me.  A  gentleman  asked  if  I  would  be 
afraid  to  go  in  the  boat  with  him  to  the  shore. 

*'0h,  no,"  said  I;  so  he  lifted  me  up  and  handed  me  down  to  a  man 
in  the  boat,  just  as  if  I  had  been  a  kitten,  then  swung  himself  down,  took 
me  on  his  lap  and  held  me  fast  while  we  rose  and  sank  on  the  stormy 
waves.  I  believe  all  our  passengers  landed  safely.  But  not  so  a  boat 
full  of  men  from  another  ship  which  sought  safety  from  the  raging  tem- 
pest outside.  The  boat  capsized,  and  all  but  one  old  man  went  down 
into  a  watery  grave,  right  before  our  eyes.  The  old  man  buffeted  the 
waves  bravely  and  swam  to  shore.  He  was  an  old  tar,  and  as  he  came 
out  of  the  water,  shaking  his  wet  clothes  and  shaggy  head,  he  said 
that  he  had  sailed  too  far  out  on  the  ocean  to  come  so  near  home  to 
be  drowned. 

The  Cairn  is  only  a  small  town  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Loch  Ryan, 
a  long  row  of  houses  built  on  a  slope  toward  the  beach.  An  unpre- 
tending, though  very  comfortable  inn  provided  for  us  a  warm  fire  and 
a  hot  breakfast,  both  of  which  we  greatly  needed.  We  had  our  clothes 
dried  while  we  went  to  bed  to  have  a  sleep.  Our  trunk  being  on  board, 
v/e  could  not  get  a  change  of  dress.  I  slept  all  that  day  and  night, 
and  while  I  slept  in  comfort  the  storm  raged  without.  A  great  num- 
ber of  vessels  of  all  sizes  had  sought  the  shelter  of  the  Loch,  and 
though  they  were  tossed  about  considerably,  yet  they  were  safe. 

Never  on  that  coast,  and  it  is  a  dangerous  one,  Avas  such  a  gale 
known  to  blow  in  the  memory  of  the  oldest  man.  Many  a  proud  and 
richly  freighted  East  India-man,  and  other  meaner  craft,  sank  in  the 
waves.  Our  vessel  was  being  patched  up,  and  getting  ready  for  sea 
as  soon  as  the  storm  was  quieted.     I  was  the  only  child  on  board  our 


MY  CHILDHOOD  AND  CHILDHOOD'S  HOME.  I7 

ship,  ana  the  gentlemen  all  said  I  was  a  brave  little  sailor,  and  I  was 
a  good  deal  petted  by  them.  • 

One  more  day  and  night  and  we  moved  out  of  Loch  Ryan,  and  pro- 
ceeded on  our  watery  way.  We  reached  Belfast  on  our  sixth  day  out, 
a  very  sad  contrast  to  what  we  were  when  we  left  Greenock.  The 
Fingal,  though  one  of  the  finest  steamers  on  the  Firth,  was  so  weather- 
beaten  and  broken  that  she  was  not  recognized,  as  she  slowly  steamed 
up  the  lough. 

Three  pilot-boats  had  been  sent  out  in  search  of  us  when  we  fell  be- 
hind time,  and  all  three,  with  their  crews,  were  lost  in  the  gale. 

What  a  commotion  was  created  when  we  landed  on  Belfast  quay.  It 
had  been  reported  that  we  were  lost,  and  we  were  received  by  the  en- 
thusiastic Irish  as  if  the  sea  had  given  us  up  again. 

"Blessed  be  St.  Patrick  and  the  Holy  Mother!  "  was  shouted  by  the 
crowd.  I  found  myself,  if  not  an  object  of  interest,  at  least  an  object 
of  curiosity,  to  a  host  of  young  ragamuffins,  who  crowded  around  me 
and  called  out : 

*'Look  at  the  Httle  Scot!  She's  half  drownded." 

"Och !  let's  see  the  half-drownded  little  Scot?"  said  one,  and  my  wraps 
were  nearly  pulled  off  my  shoulders,  to  my  great  discomfort.  The  gen- 
tleman whose  carriage  was  waiting  for  us,  rescued  me  from  my  young 
tormentors.     We  were  taken,  amid  cheers  and  liuzzas,  from  the  crowd 

to  the  house  of  my  mother's  friends,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Q n.     The  lady 

received  us  with  a  warm  Irish  welcome.  She  kissed  me  most  affection- 
ately, as  if  she  loved  me  very  much.  I  w^ondered  at  a  strange  lady 
kissing  me,  when  my  mother  never  did.  These  friends  had  no  children, 
so  I  had  petting  to  my  heart's  content  while  I  was  with  them. 

My  mother's  elegant  wardrobe,  that  she  had  brought  with  her,  was 
totally  destroyed  by  the  sea  water. 

I  hate  monkeys.  I  went  out  a  little  distance  from  the  house  one 
day,  sight-seeing.  I  saw  a  woman  at  the  corner  of  the  street,  with  a 
sheet  spread  out,  full  of  apples  for  sale.  "Twenty  four  a  penny!" 
she  called  out.  I  invested  a  penny  and  had  to  hft  my  frock  in  order 
to  carry  my  load.  I  returned  to  the  house,  and  went  to  the  kitchen  to 
see  how  the  cook  roasted  her  beef.  I  stood  with  my  back  on  the  edge 
of  the  open  door,  and  swung  from  side  to  side  eating  an  apple.  I  felt 
a  hand  on  my  shoulder  and  looked  around,  and  saw  ^  large  monkey 
stretching  down  from  the  top  of  the  door,  first  to  touch  me  and  then 
to  beg  for  an  apple.  I  gave  him  one,  and  he  quickly  disappeared  with 
it  to  his  house  over  the  door.  In  a  minute  he  was  at  my  shoulder 
2 


l8  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

again.  I  gave  him  another,  and  another,  in  quick  succession,  till  he 
nearly  had  all  my  apples.  I  began  to  think  he  was  a  greedy  monkey, 
and  had  not  eaten,  but  hidden  the  apples.  So,  when  he  came  again,  I 
gave  him  a  slight  tap  on  the  side  of  his  head,  and  told  him  he  was 
greedy.  He  ran  to  the  top  of  the  door  with  a  hideous  yell,  and,  show- 
ing his  teeth,  he  pounced  down  upon  my  head,  bit  and  scratched  me, 
and  tore  out  my  hair.  The  blood  streamed  over  my  face  and  shoulders. 
It  was  with  great  difficulty  he  was  made  to  let  go  his  ugly  grip.  I  was 
taken  up  stairs  to  my  mother,  crying  and  covered  with  blood.  My 
mother  was  startled,  sent  for  a  doctor,  had  my  wounds  dressed,  my  yel- 
low curls  all  cut  off,  my  head  bandaged,  a  cap  put  on,  and  then  put  me 
to  bed.     I  have  had  no  friendship  for  monkeys  since  that  time. 

Our  pleasant  host  and  hostess  took  us  to  see  the  lions  of  Belfast  in  a 
jaunting-car — I  mean  a  car  that  resembles  two  sofas  placed  back  to  back 
— and  we  sat  with  our  feet  hanging  over  the  side  above  the  wheels.  I 
was  in  constant  dread  of  falling  off  at  every  jerk,  and  we  had  not  a 
few,  as  the  car  had  no  springs.  Our  delightful  visit  over,  we  embarked 
on  board  another  fine  steamer  for  home. 

We  had  a  safe  and  speedy  passage  to  Greenock,  where  we  had 
breakfast.  I  drank  a  cup  of  hot  coffee — the  first  I  had  ever  tasted. 
Our  nursery  table  was  never  furnished  with  strong  coffee,  or  tea,  or  hot 
bread.  Our  constitutions  were  not  tampered  with.  We  grew  strong 
and  healthy  on  simple  food,  well  prepared,  and  plenty  of  it.  The 
steamer  unloaded  a  portion  of  her  cargo,  and  a  few  passengers  landed 
here  also,  and  then  she  sailed,  taking  my  mother  and  leaving  me  behind. 

The  spiteful  old  monkey  had  done  my  head  great  damage,  besides 
taking  my  golden  locks  from  me.  He  left  my  head  very  sore,  and  the 
doctor  prescribed  sea-bathing  for  me;  so  my  mother  left  me  with  our 
friends  at  Greenock.  Here  I  had  a  delightful  time,  and  was  well 
nursed  and  cared  for.  I  was  quite  a  lion,  or  at  least  a  cub.  I  had 
been  out  at  sea  in  the  great  gale,  and  came  back  alive.  I  was  a  nat- 
ural curiosity  to  tlie  children  who  came  to  see  me,  and  I  M'as  quite 
proud  of  my  distinction  and  great  experience.  Greenock  is  twenty 
miles  below  Glasgow,  and  stands  on  the  west  side  of  the  Estuary  of 
the  Clyde,  partly  on  a  small  tract  of  level  land,  and  partly  on  some 
fine  commanding  heights,  which  rise  in  terraces  behind  and  on  the 
west  side  of  the  town.  It  has  a  great  many  beautiful  buildings.  It  is 
a  busy  place.  Sugar  refineries,  ship-building  yards,  iron  foundries  and 
machine  shops,  paper  and  sail-cloth  factories,  distilleries,  breweries, 
tanneries,  etc.,  are  all  at  work,  day  and  night,  by  the  powerful  aid  of 


MY  CHILDHOOD  AND  CHILDHOOD  S  HOME  .     1 9 

Steam.  The  harbors  are  spacious,  and  they  have  every  accommoda- 
tion for  shipping.  A  century  ago,  James  Watt  was  born  in  Greenock, 
and  it  was  then  but  a  small  fishing  village.  Now,  by  the  discovery 
and  application  of  steam,  it  has  a  large  population  and  all  these  indus- 
tries at  work.  Many  a  splendid  steamship  leaves  this  port  to  plow  the 
mighty  deep;  many  an  iron  horse  goes  snorting,  with  a  long  and  heavy 
train  behind  him,  by  means  of  the  power  that  was  discovered  in  a  tea- 
kettle. 

I  had  a  fine  opportunity  of  visiting  all  the  beautiful  towns  on  the 
Firth  of  Clyde.  My  host  had  a  brother  who  was  master  of  a  beauti- 
ful steamer,  which  plied  between  all  the  noted  watering-places  on  the 
Firth,  and  with  him  I  had  many  a  pleasant  trip.  There  was  danger  in 
crossing  the  Firth  on  rough  days,  but  nothing  roused  my  enthusiasm 
so  much  as  being  out  on  the  water  in  stormy  weather. 

I  was  strolling  along  -the  quays  one  day,  looking  at  the  docks  and 
ships.  I  saw  two  little  boys  wrestling  on  the  brink  of  one  of  the  docks, 
which  was  half  full  of  water.  Each  little  fellow  tried  to  throw  the 
other  down.  Fast  locked  in  each  other's  arms,  both  at  last  tumbled 
over  headlong  into  the  dock.  A  loud  splash,  and  the  water  closed  over 
them.  I  screamed  out:  "Two  children  in  the  water!  "  but,  as  no  one 
but  myself  saw  them  fall  in,  no  one  seemed  to  heed  the  cry.  I  called 
out:  "Save  the  boys! "  Some  men  near  by  ran  down  the  steps  of  the 
dock,  but  saw  nothing,  for  the  boys  had  sunk  a  second  time.  "The 
boys  are  drowning!"  I  cried,  in  tones  which  were  heard  by  a  tall, 
handsome,  well-dressed  youth,  who  came  near  me.  I  pointed  to  the 
spot,  he  obeyed  the  signal,  plunged  into  the  water,  dove,  and  brought 
up  the  poor  little  fellows.  The  men  on  the  side-steps  received  the 
burden.  The  unconscious  children  were  carried  to  the  nearest  house, 
and  the  usual  remedies  were  used,  which  brought  one  back  to  life,  but 
the  spirit  of  the  other  had  escaped  to  the  better  land.  After  the  young 
gent'cman  had  delivered  his  precious  burden  to  the  men,  he  clambered 
up  the  side  of  the  dock,  stood  a  minute  to  wring  some  of  the  water 
out  of  the  elegant  clothes  he  had  spoiled,  and  then  walked  away  as  if 
nothing  had  happened.  Oh !  how  my  heart  bounded  out  toward  him, 
to  thank  him  for  his  deed  of  nobleness;  but  he  was  gone.  The  crowd 
followed  the  children.  I  stood  alone,  wondering  at  all  that  had  passed 
within  the  last  fifteen  minutes.  I  wondered  if  any  other  young  man 
would  do  as  this  one  had  done.  I  did  not  know,  but  he  has  ever  lived 
in  my  memory — a  much  admired  hero. 

I  had  been  sent  for  to  come  home  and  attend  to  my  dancing  lessons. 


20  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

This  was  a  most  important  class,  and  must  not  be  neglected,  whatever 
else  was.  I  was  passionately  fond  of  music  and  dancing.  It  is  strange 
that  though  all  over  the  world  Presbyterians  are  opposed  to  dancing, 
yet  in  the  very  cradle  of  Presbyterianism  no  education  is  considered 
complete  without  it.  As  soon  as  I  arrived  at  home,  I  asked  for  my 
mother.  She  was  in  the  parlor;  I  ran  to  where  she  was;  I  longed  to 
clasp  her  round  the  neck  and  lie  on  her  bosom ;  but  this  liberty  I  was 
never  allowed.  My  mother  did  not  see  me  as  I  stood  at  the  parlor 
door  admiring  her.  To  me  she  looked  so  pretty  that  I  did  not  like  to 
break  the  spell.  I  moved  a  httle  closer,  she  looked  around,  saw  me, 
and  said  she  was  going  to  have  company,  and  sent  me  up  stairs. 
No  welcome  kiss,  no  kindly  greeting  for  me!  Ah,  me!  my  heart 
sank.  A  dark  shadow  that  had  no  brightness,  crept  over  my 
spirit  that  night;  it  has  beclouded  many  a  day,  and  the  memory 
of  it  bedims  my  eye,  even  now,  after  so  many  years.  Some  great 
man  says,  "It  is  folly  to  grieve  over  past  suffering."  He  says,  "The 
suffering  that  is  past,  is  as  truly  non-existant  as  the  suffering  that  never 
has  been  at  all."  This  is  true  of  physical  suffering.  But  the  remem- 
brance of  our  past  life  is  a  great  part  of  our  present  life.  I  believe,  I 
feel,  I  know  that  past  sorrows  are  a  great  reality  in  my  present  life, 
whether  for  good  or  ill.  It  will  not  do  to  tell  me  that  past  sufferings 
have  ceased  to  exist,  while  their  remembrance  remains  so  vivid,  and 
the  results  such  as  they  are.  The  great  sorrow  of  my  childhood  was, 
that  my  mother  had  no  room  in  her  heart  for  me.  I  do  not  think  that 
she  laid  herself  out  deliberately  to  torment  me ;  but  there  was  an  un- 
natural repression  of  all  my  joyous  childish  feelings,  a  weeding  out 
of  all  endearment  from  my  young  life. 

Concerts  were  given  semi-anually  by  my  music  master,  and  balls  by 
my  dancing  teacher.  These  parties  were  thoroughly  enjoyed  by  me. 
My  whole  heart  was  in  them ;  but  they  had  a  drawback  that  nearly 
spoiled  all  the  pleasure.  Children  love  to  tell  each  other  what  they 
are  going  to  wear  at  a  party,  and  enjoy  the  anticipation  of  putting  a 
new  dress  on,  and  admiring  it  before  it  is  put  on,  as  much  as  the 
reality;  but  I  never  had  an  opportunity  to  admire  my  pretty  things  till 
they  were  on  my  person ;  for  I  never  knew  what  I  was  to  wear  till  the 
time  came  to  dress  for  the  concert.  Then  I  had  no  time  to  enjoy  the 
beauty  of  my  richly  embroidered  India  muslin  dress,  my  dainty  white 
satin  slippers,  my  long  white  kid  gloves  and  broad  satin  sash.  Hie  to 
the  concert  or  ball  room  as  soon  as  dressed;  there  I  could  admire 
others,  if  not  myself.     It  was  a  pretty  sight  to  see  fifty  or  sixty  little 


MY  CHILDHOOD  AND  CHILDHOOD'S  HOME.  21 

boys  and  girls  dancing  the  garland  dance.  It  was  like  a  fairy  scene, 
each  holding  a  garland  of  beautiful  flowers  over  her  head  like  a  picture 
frame,  and  many  a  sweet  face  peeping  out  from  under  the  flowery  arch. 
None  of  the  indelicate,  immodest  dances  that  are  in  vogue  now,  were 
then  known;  consequently  I  never  saw  in  the  ball  room  anything  lead- 
ing to  licentiousness,  or  even  suggestive  of  impropriety.  O,  that 
mothers  would  ever  protect  their  innocent  children  from  learning  the 
dances  which  lead  to  death !  I  believe  my  mother  enjoyed  seeing  me 
dance  in  the  ball  room. 

I  was  once  practicing  my  music  for  a  grand  concert,  when  my 
mother  suddenly  came  into  the  room,  and  thus  accosted  me : 

"Do  you  think  you  can  sing?" 

"I  do  not  know,"  I  said,  "but  the  master  says  I  can,  and  he  has 
given  me  several  pieces  to  practice." 

My  mother  repeated  my  words,  and  then  said : 

"I  hate  to  hear  you  sing,  and  you  shall  not  sing  at  the  concert." 

I  looked  up  to  her  face  in  consternation  and  said,  "The  programme 
is  printed,  and  I  must  take  my  part,  the  master  expects  me  to  do  so." 

' '  If  you  go  upon  the  platform  to  sing,  I  shall  pull  you  down.     I 
am  master,  and  I  say,  you  shall  not  sing  at  the  concert." 

"The  master  will  be  disappointed,"  I  said. 

"I  shall  be  implicidy  obeyed,"  said  my  mother.  I  did  not  sing  at  that 
concert  or  any  other  concert,  evermore.  The  voice  of  the  canary  was 
hushed,  no  more  song  from  her  throat.  My  spirit  was  crushed.  I 
took  no  interest  in  learning  music  after  that,  though  my  mother  paid 
Professor  M.  for  teaching  me.  I  made  no  advance,  though  passion- 
ately fond  of  it.  As  usual,  I  was  sent  away  from  home  on  the  day  of 
the  concert.  When  I  came  home  in  time  to  dress,  I  went  into  my  room 
to  see  what  I  was  to  wear.  I  saw  a  very  beautiful  black  Norwich 
crape  dress  on  the  bed.  I  asked  the  servant  where  was  my  dress :  she 
pointed  to  the  bed.  My  mother  does  not  mean  that  I  shall  wear  a 
black  dress!  I  was  told  that  she  did  mean  it  for  she  placed  it  there, 
and  I  was  to  make  haste  and  dress,  for  my  cousins  were  coming  for  me. 
I  held  back,  hoping  that  a  white  dress  would  yet  be  forthcoming.  My 
mother  dispelled  the  illusion  by  coming  to  see  if  I  was  nearly  dressed, 
but  I  was  crying  and  had  not  begun  to  dress.  I  asked  why  I  had  to 
wear  a  black  dress,  but  was  told  to  dress  at  once,  and  ask  no  questions. 
I  had  either  to  dress  in  black  and  go  to  the  concert,  or  go  to  bed.  I 
had  two  minutes  to  choose,  after  that  I  should  have  no  choice.  I  very 
reluctantly  put  on  the  dress,  nothing  white  about  me  but  my  shoes  and 


22  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

gloves.  I  cried  all  the  time  I  was  dressing.  I  was  ready  when  my 
cousins  came  for  me.  The  girls  did  not  get  out  of  the  carriage;  only 
Cousin  Jack,  who  had  just  come  home  from  the  Indies.  He  was  a 
midshipman,  and  I  had  not  seen  him  since  his  return.  I  was  ashamed 
of  my  black  dress  and  red  swollen  face,  but  I  was  glad  to  see  him  and 
dried  my  eyes.  Cousin  Jack  was  a  great  favorite  with  me,  and  it 
would  have  given  me  great  pleasure  had  my  mother  allowed  me  to 
know  he  was  coming  with  his  sisters  for  me.  Kind  Jack  took  no  no- 
tice of  my  mortified  feelings.  He  talked  me  out  of  myself  ere  we 
reached  the  Tontine  Hotel.  What  was  my  astonishment  on  entering 
the  assembly  room,  to  see  all  Professor  M.'s  scholars  dressed  in  black. 
Why  was  this,  I  asked,  and  was  told  that  one  of  the  royal  family  was 
dead,  and  the  Professor  had  requested  his  patrons  to  dress  their  chil- 
dren in  black  in  honor  of  the  dead,  which  they  did.  How  much 
misery  would  I  have  escaped  had  my  mother  only  told  me  this.  But 
her  intention  was  to  teach  me  unquestioning  obedience.  Well,  I 
obeyed  reluctantly,  because  I  did  think  my  dress  would  be  laughed  at 
by  my  school-mates,  and  it  was  a  very  great  trial  to  me,  and  all  the 
admiration  which  was  lavished  upon  my  dress  was  lost  upon  me.  The 
pleasure  I  might  have  had  was  crushed  out  of  me.  The  principle  of 
obedience  is  right;  but  the  manner  in  which  I  was  taught  it,  made  my 
spirit  ofttimes  rebel.  The  sorrov^s  of  my  childhood  made  me  strangely 
thoughtful,  and  I  was  as  much  alone  in  my  thoughts  as  was  Robinson 
Crusoe  on  his  island. 

It  is  well  said  that  there  is  a  Providence  over  children,  for  they 
are  cared  for  even  when  parents  are  careless.  On  a  bright,  sunshiny 
Sunday  morning,  my  half-sister  and  I  set  out  on  a  trip  to  Dumbarton 
Castle  as  blithe  and  merry  as  a  canary  and  a  black  bird  could  be. 
(At  home  we  were  named  canary  and  black  bird  on  account  of  the 
color  of  our  hair.)  Our  journey  wound  along  the  banks  of  the  White 
Cart  for  three  miles,  amidst  the  richest  verdure  and  sweetest  song. 
Oh,  how  calm  and  beautiful  was  nature  at  this  time.  My  heart  seemed 
flooded  with  a  sweet  joy.  I  could  give  no  reason  for  the  feehng.  I 
simply  felt  happy.  The  banks  of  the  Clyde  were  still  more  glorious 
with  their  deep  shades,  their  beautiful  retreats,  their  green  hillocks  and 
grassy  flats.  The  castles  and  cottages  that  gleamed  in  the  sunshine 
through  the  grand  old  forest  trees,  presented  everywhere  beautiful  pic- 
tures, and  the  great  Ben  Nevis  a  splendid  background.     I  was  delighted 

to  be  able  to  tell  B of  the  different  places  as  we  passed;  but  she 

took  no  interest  in  what  I  told  her.     Perhaps  I  was  not  as  entertaining 


MY  CHILDHOOD  AND  CHILDHOOD'S  HOME.  23 

as  Highland  Maggie  had  been  to  me,  though  I  tried  to  be.  We  sat 
down  on  a  knoll  under  the  shade  of  a  large  tree,  and  ate  our  lunch, 
which  was  very  sweet.  B was  so  tired  that  she  had  no  more  en- 
joyment in  our  walk.  She  wanted  to  go  back  home  to  her  dolls  and 
playthings.     I  pointed  to  the  castle  and  said : 

"We  are  near  Dumbarton."     With  a  pout  she  said: 

"I  only  see  two  hills  sticking  together." 

"Well,"  I  said,  "on  these  two  hills  the  castle  is  built." 

Poor  B had  never  been  so  far  from  home  before.     She  was  the 

petted  and  sheltered  one,  whilst  I  was  roaming,  unheeded,  over  moun- 
tain-tops, in  deep  glens,  on  swift-gliding  streams,  or  on  the  stormy 
firth.  We  were  being  educated  for  our  different  spheres  in  life.  When 
opposite  to  the  castle  we  hailed  a  boat  and  crossed  the  Clyde  right  un- 
der the  walls  of  the  renowned  fortress.  Oh !  how  my  heart  beat  while 
I  stood  looking  at  these  huge,  massive  stone  walls,  wide  and  deep,  and 
turreted  and  towered,  bastioned  and  battlemented,  with  soldiers  walk- 
ing on  top  of  the  walls — so  far  up  that  they  looked  like  puppets.  I 
dare  say  that  they  could  not  see  us  wee  midgets  from  their  elevation. 
We  stood  where  the  brave  Sir  William  Wallace  stood  nearly  six  hun- 
dred years  before,  looking  for  a  place  to  scale  these  formidable  walls! 
Here  he  struck  the  first  blow  for  liberty;  from  here,  by  his  daring  in- 
trei:»idity,  he  drove  the  opi:)ressors  of  his  country.  What  a  boon  was 
this  for  Scotland!  But  this  was  only  an  earnest  of  what  he  vowed  to 
do  for  his  beloved  country.  Noble  man!  He  delivered  Scodand  from 
the  English  yoke  of  slavery,  and  was  himself  delivered  to  an  English 
scaffold.  We  entered  the  wide  gateway,  passed  the  huge  portcullis. 
It  was  out  of  sight  now.  No  enemy  was  about  to  enter;  peace  reigned 
within  and  without. 

We  went  up  a  long  flight  of  wide  stone  steps  till  we  reached  the  level 
of  the  foundation  of  the  first  battlements.  It  was  a  curious  sight  to 
see  the  soldiers  lying  on  the  glacis  reading  and  sunning  themselves,  and 
the  sentinel  with  measured  steps  pacing  the  rampart.  We  continued 
our  ascent  till  we  reached  the  summit  of  the  lower  cone,  on  which  the 
ponderous  buildings  of  the  castle  stood.  We  entered  a  gateway  and 
stood  within  a  tower  in  a  massive  wall.  Everything  was  massive.  We 
were  at  the  entrance  of  the  citadel,  and  a  soldier  informed  brother 
Tom  tliat  two  very  young  ladies  wished  to  see  him.  We  wished  to 
surprise  him  and  did  not  tell  who  we  were.  When  Tom  entered  the 
tower  by  a  door  from  the  inside  of  the  wall,  how  pleasant  to  see  the 
glad  surprise  that  ruled  lines  on  his  handsome  face.     He  put  his  arms 


24  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

round  us  both  and  kissed  us;  took  a  hand  of  each  and  led  us  into  the 
citadel.  I  was  happy  then — I  felt  that  some  one  loved  me — and  my 
poor  little  heart  Avas  grateful  that  one  so  handsome,  in  his  scarlet  coat 
and  shiny  epaulets,  and  great  brown  eyes  looking  so  kindly  into  mine, 
and  showing  so  much  care  for  me,  was  my  kinsman.  He  was  a  half- 
brother  by  a  former  marriage.  What  a  contrast  to  his  brother  with  the 
keen  blue  eye  and  cutting  glance,  whose  look  was  freezing  and  had 
forever  chilled  my  love  for  him.     We  three  had  a  cozy  dinner,  and  as 

B was  very  tired  she  lay  down  and  went  to  sleep.     I  was  not 

tired,  and  after  dinner  I  asked  Tom  to  take  me  out  and  show  me  things. 
I  threw  my  arms  round  his  neck  with  all  the  artless  ardor  of  my  nature, 
and  told  him  how  much  I  loved  him.  He  reciprocated  my  affection, 
and  we  promised  to  love  each  other  all  our  days — a  promise  which  has 
been  kept.  We  started  to  explore.  Tom  took  me  to  the  summit  of 
the  taller  cone,  by  a  long,  narrow,  almost  perpendicular  stair.  We  had 
to  climb  behind  each  other,  the  stairway  was  so  narrow.  When  we 
reached  the  top  we  had  a  full  view  of  the  tremendous  mass  of  build- 
ings on  the  lower  cone.  On  this  pinnacle  stood  the  powder  magazine, 
out  of  the  reach  of  danger,  and  a  tall  flagstaff,  from  which  floated  the 
national  colors.  We  sat  down  at  the  foot  of  the  flagstaff,  while  he  told, 
and  I  listened  to,  tales  of  the  castle.  He  told  me  of  Edwin  Ruthven's 
exploits,  and  how  Wallace  and  his  brave  followers  scaled  the  almost 
perpendicular  walls.  He  pointed  to  Wallace's  Tower,  standing  on  the 
cleft  between  the  two  summits,  in  which  the  sword  of  the  noble  patriot 
is  preserved.  I  was  promised  a  sight  of  it  on  the  morrow,  with  thou- 
sands of  others  besides.  Next  morning,  before  the  sleepers  of  the 
castle  were  astir,  I  was  up  and  away  to  the  top  of  the  flagstaff  summit, 
drinking  in  through  the  eye  all  I  could  of  this  stronghold,  once  the 
prison  of  the  liberties  of  Scotland.  But  the  invincible  two-edged 
sword  of  the  conquering  hero  was  the  key,  wielded  by  giant  strength, 
and  the  gates  flew  open  and  let  the  captives  free.  When  I  saw  Tom 
coming  up  the  stair  I  gave  a  glad  cry  and  ran  round  the  pole.  Tom 
gave  chase  and  caught  me  and  led  me  down  to  breakfast,  then  to  the 
Tower  of  the  renowned  chief.  We  entered  on  the  first  floor  of  the 
armory,  where  thousands  of  guns  were  stacked  Jike  bristles  in  a  clothes 
brush.  Swords,  pistols,  spears,  and  every  kind  of  war  weapon  orna- 
mented the  walls,  in  shapes  of  crowns,  crescents,  stars,  and  various 
other  artistic  devices,  all  very  wonderful  to  my  young  eyes.  Shields 
and  coats  of  arms,  coats  of  mail,  helmets,  armor,  tattered  banners  and 
trophies  of  war  were  hung  around  everywhere.     But  that  which  had 


MY  CHILDHOOD  AND  CHILDHOOD'S  HOME.  25 

the  deepest  interest  for  me  was  the  two-edged  sword  of  Scotland's 
champion.  There  it  hung  glittering  bright,  with  here  and  there  a  dull 
spot.  I  looked  upon  it  with  awe.  It  was  taken  down  that  I  might 
handle  it.  I  tried  to  lift  it,  but  I  was  not  able — it  was  so  large  and 
heavy.  Several  inches  were  broken  off  the  point,  yet  it  was  longer 
than  I  was  tall.  The  basket  which  covered  the  hilt  was  made  of  steel, 
with  figures  wrought  in  bass-relief  all  over  it.  It  was  as  large  as  a 
good-sized  punch  bowl.  None  but  a  giant  could  wield  such  a  ponder- 
ous weapon.  Wallace  was  e.xceedingly  handsome,  of  surpassing  size 
and  strength  and  courage.  George  the  Fourth,  King  of  England,  or- 
dered this  sword  to  be  carried  to  the  Tower  of  London,  to  be  had  in 
safe-keeping.  But  the  Scots  were  indignant  at  an  English  king  think- 
ing he  could  take  better  care  of  their  champion's  sword  than  they 
could.  They  murmured  at  the  sword  being  where  the  owner's  brave 
life  had  been  taken  from  him.  The  king  kindly  restored  the  sword  to 
its  rightful  place,  and  now  it  adorns  Wallace's  Tower  at  Dumbarton. 
Sir  WiUiam  Wallace,  his  country's  savior,  will  live  for  ages,  as  he  has 
lived — a  rich  and  proud  heritage  to  his  country.  His  fame  lives  in 
glens  and  caves,  in  towers  and  trees.  Rocks  and  ravines  have  been 
hallowed  by  the  tread  of  his  weary  feet.  The  small  but  lovely  Carron 
has  an  historic  interest  connected  with  the  meeting  of  the  Wallace  and 
the  Bruce  on  its  banks.  Clyde,  Dumbarton,  Stirling,  Ellerslie — his  birth- 
place— all  are  consecrated  spots.  Enthusiasm  kindles  at  the  name  of 
Wallace.     In  every  home  his  name  is  a  household  word. 

The  town  of  Paisley  was  divided  into  parishes,  and  we  at  one  time 

lived  in  the  Middle  Kirk  parish.     The  Rev.  Mr.  B was  minister 

of  the  Middle  Kirk,  and  visited  his  parishoners  occasionally,  our  fam- 
ily amongst  the  others,  though  we  never  went  to  his  kirk.  He  wished, 
being  a  new  minister,  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  his  people;  but  our 
family  did  not  wish  to  make  his  acquaintance,  and  were,  as  a  rule,  not 
at  home  when  he  was  expected.  On  one  occasion,  I  was  at  home; 
and,  though  I  was  afraid  of  ministers,  I  soon  felt  quite  at  home  with 
Mr  B .     He  asked  me  if  I  went  to  Sunday-school. 

"No,"  I  said. 

"At  our  kirk  we  are  going  to  open  one,  will  you  come  and  help  us  to 
organize?"     I  laughed  at  this  idea.     I  said: 

"I  do  not  know  how."     He  smiled  at  my  ignorance,  put  his  hand 
upon  my  head,  and  said: 

"Come,  anyhow."     I  promised  to  do  so.     He  shook  hands  with  me, 
and  1  have  never  been  afraid  of  ministers  since. 


26  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

I  went  to  the  Sunday-school,  where  were  several  gentlemen  teachers, 
but  no  ladies.  Instead  of  placing  me  in  a  class  with  ignorant  girls,  Uke 
myself,  to  he  instructed,  they  gave  me  a  class  of  girls,  bigger  and  older 
than  myself,  to  teach.  This  was  great  folly  on  their  part,  as  the  sequel 
will  show.  Of  course,  I  could  teach  them  nothing.  I  could  read  better 
than  they,  and  could  hear  them  read  and  recite,  and  tell  them  of  mis- 
takes, that  was  all.  I  gave  them  tickets  when  their  lessons  were  good. 
My  big  scholars  seemed  to  like  their  little  teacher,  for  one  of  them  one 
day  gave  me  a  little  package  of  lozenges;  I  thought  her  very  kind,  but  her 
lesson  was  bad  that  day;  I  did  not  think  she  ought  to  have  had  a  ticket, 
and  so  told  her.  She  begged  me  to  give  her  one  this  time.  I  thought 
of  her  kindness  and  gave  her  one,  on  condition,  that  she  would  have 
a  better  lesson  next  Sunday.  This  she  promised  to  have.  Next  Sun- 
day, I  had  seven  or  eight  packages,  and  as  many  bad  lessons.  I  tried 
to  look  dignified;  I  was  afraid  to  give  tickets,  the  lessons  did  not  just- 
ify me  in  so  doing;  but  the  smiling  faces  and  pleading  voices  prevailed. 
All  promised  to  do  better  next  time.  Next  time,  I  had  my  little  pres- 
ents as  usual  (value  about  one  cent  each).  One  idle  girl,  who  never 
had  a  good  lesson,  and  never  had  received  a  ticket,  nor  given  me  a 
present,  gave  me  one  this  day;  and,  as  usual,  a  bad  lesson.  I  could 
not  in  conscience  give  her  a  ticket.  She  asked  me  why  I  did  not 
give  her  a  ticket,  as  she  had  given  me  lozenges?  I  at  once  returned 
them  to  her.  A  flash  of  light  crossed  my  mind.  I  questioned  myself 
whether  it  was  right  to  give  tickets  for  half-said  lessons,  or  take  lozen- 
ges from  the  girls.  Did  the  girls  give  me  presents,  in  lieu  of  good  les- 
sons, to  get  the  reward?  If  so,  they  had  gained  their  point.  Evi- 
dently, the  idle  girl  thought  to  buy,  not  earn  her  reward.  I  was  sorely 
puzzled  in  the  week  following  as  to  what  was  right.  I  had  nothing 
but  my  own  unenlightened  conscience  to  direct  me.  I  spoke  to  no 
one,  asked  counsel  of  no  one.  My  heavenly  Father,  or  Christ  my 
elder  Brother,  at  that  time,  I  knew  nothing  of;  so  I  could  not  go  to 
them  for  counsel,  as  I  did  not  know  the  way.  They  had  never  occu- 
pied my  thoughts.  In  fact,  I  was  in  total  ignorance  of  who  and  what 
they  were  to  me.  Next  Sunday,  all  were  ready  with  their  gifts.  I 
would  not  accept  of  any,  however,  till  after  the  lessons  were  recited ; 
and  not  one  good  lesson  was  recited  that  day.  I  refused  to  give 
rewards,  though  they  seemed  angry  and  murmured  discontentedly. 
I  took  my  resolution.  When  school  was  dismissed,  I  went  to  the  super- 
intendent and  told  him  I  could  not  teach. 
"Oh,  yes,  you  can;  you  do  first-rate." 


MY  CHILDHOOD  AND  CHILDHOOD  S  HOME.  27 

"No,  I  do  not;  I  am  not  fit  to  teach." 

He  asked  me  why  I  said  so.  And  I  laid  the  whole  case  be- 
fore him ;  told  him  what  I  had  felt,  and  what  I  had  done.  He  said 
that  older  teachers  than  I  had  done  the  same  thing,  and  never  to 
mind;  I  must  not  be  so  over  nice.  Had  I  known  Moses,  or  his  writ- 
ings, I  might  have  told  Mr.  A.:  "Thus  saith  the  divinely  inspired 
Moses,  in  Exodus  xxiii.  8:  'Thou  shalt  take  no  gift:  for  the  gift  bHnd- 
eth  the  eyes  of  the  wise,  and  perverteth  the  words  of  the  righteous.' " 
I  was  neither  wise  nor  righteous,  but  my  conduct  did  not  satisfy  myself; 
and,  to  prevent  the  repetition  of  what  displeased  me  in  my  own  con- 
duct, I  could  never  be  induced  to  go  back  to  that  Sunday-school.  So 
ended  my  first  attempt  at  Sunday-school  teaching. 

The  first  ten  or  twelve  years  of  my  life  were  spent  •  in  my  dear,  old, 
native  town  of  Paisley;  where  I  was  taught,  in  that  short  space  of 
time,  to  love  dancing,  balls,  concerts,  theaters,  fairs,  horse-racing,  nov- 
el-reading and  card-playing.  All  these  were  fashionable,  and  my  fam- 
ily patronized  what  was  fashionable.  My  aesthetic  sensibility  was  being 
cultured  by  the  stage  trappings.  The  race  course  was  a  lively  scene, 
and  I  enjoyed  it.  Novel-reading  charmed  me,  and  every  one  of  Scott's 
heroines  I  admired  and  tried  to  imitate;  but,  this  being  hard  to  do,  I 
satisfied  myself  with  adopting  their  names;  so,  at  one  time,  I  was 
Ellen  Douglas,  at  another  Helen  McGregor,  etc. 

Our  family  removed  to  Glasgow,  where  our  circle  of  acquaintances 
was  enlarged  and  gaieties  increased.  Glasgow  is  the  chief  city  of  Scot- 
land; it  stands  on  both  sides  of  the  river  Clyde,  and  handsome  stone- 
bridges  span  the  river.  The  beauty  of  the  public  and  private  build- 
ings is  unsurpassed. 

At  the  last  grand  party  I  attended  in  Scotland,  I  wore  my  first  silk 
dress.  On  some  national  occasion,  a  grand  soiree  of  unusual  magni- 
ficence was  given  at  the  Assembly  Hall.  The  elite  of  the  city  were 
there;  I  was  taken  with  my  mother  and  her  clique.  My  dress  pleased 
me  much;  but  as  soon  as  I  entered  the  gorgeously  decorated  hall, 
with  its  magnificent  chandeliers  lit  up,  and  with  vases  of  every  size 
and  of  rare  beauty  filled  with  most  beautiful  flowers,  I  became  obli- 
vious to  myself  and  my  dress,  in  my  intense  admiration  of  all  around. 

Girls,  as  a  rule,  are  called  vain  if  they  admire  anything  they  wear, 
or  their  faces,  or  their  forms;  but  I  think  it  is  their  innate  love  of  the 
beautiful  that  gives  them  the  desire  to  be  well  dressed.  My  mother 
had  taught  me  that  I  was  ugly  and  T  believed  her,  so  I  had  no  cause 
for  vanity  on  that  score,  but  I  did  admire  myself  when  I  was  hand- 


28  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

somely  dressed.  A  new  minister  was  going  to  preach  at  a  Presbyterian 
cliurch  near  by,  and  I  went  not  so  much  to  hear  him  as  to  show  others 
my  dress  I  thought  so  beautiful.  I  took  the  front  seat  in  the  gallery, 
spread  out  my  glossy  dress  on  the  crimson  velvet  cushion,  took  off  one 
white  kid  glove,  placed  it  carefully  in  shape  on  the  crimson-covered 
Bible  shelf  before  me,  and  all  this  to  be  looked  at  and  admired.  Then 
I  looked  round  and  admired  all  the  pretty  bonnets  and  dresses  I  could 
see.     I  had  no  higher  motive  for  being  in  that  house. 

The  minister,  in  gown  and  bands,  mounted  the  pulpit  stair  with 
slow  and  solemn  steps.  After  psalms  were  sung  and  prayers  were  of- 
fered, the  minister  took  for  his  text  the  sixth  and  seventh  verses  of  the 
thirteenth  chapter  of  Luke:  "A  certain  man  had  a  fig  tree  planted  in 
his  vineyard;  and  he  came  and  sought  fruit  thereon,  and  found  none. 
Then  said  he  unto  the  dresser  of  his  vineyard.  Behold,  these  three 
years  I  come  seeking  fruit  on  this  fig  tree,  and  find  none :  cut  it  down, 
why  cumbereth  it  the  ground?"  He  said  that  children,  till  they  were 
five  years  old,  were  not  responsible  beings;  but,  after  that,  every  five 
years  of  this  life  they  were  cumberers  of  the  ground,  yea,  every  year 
after  the  first  five  they  were  liable  to  be  cut  down  as  cumberers  of  the^ 
ground.  The  dainty  white  glove  was  crushed  up  and  put  in  my  pocket; 
my  dress  was  forgotten.  My  undivided  attention  was  given  to  the 
preacher  and  what  he  said.  I  had  spent  more  than  five  years  of  re- 
sponsibility. I  felt  that  I  was  a  cumberer  of  the  ground  and  liable  to 
be  cut  down.  What  was  I  to  do?  What  could  I  do?  The  preacher 
answered  not  these  questions.  How  I  was  to  escape  the  cutting  down 
I  could  not  learn,  and  I  was  in  trouble,  I  was  deeply  concerned  but 
woefully  ignorant  as  to  what  I  should  do.  I  went  again  to  hear  the 
same  minister,  but  I  learned  nothing  more.     I  was  in  total  darkness. 

I  became  acquainted  with  a  Miss  H ,  who  had  been  a  Methodist, 

but  was  now  an  English  Baptist.  She  was  the  first  acquaintance  I  ever 
had  who  was  decidedly  religious.  She  was  double  my  age,  and  I  won- 
dered why  she  took  a  fancy  to  me;  but  the  fancy  or  friendship  was 
mutual.  She  was  an  orphan,  and  dependent  on  her  own  exertions  for 
a  living.  She  was  highly  respected  by  her  friends.  She  induced  me 
to  rise  early  and  take  a  walk  every  morning  to  the  Green.  These 
walks,  along  the  shady  banks  of  the  Clyde,  or  a  seat  by  the  fountain 
or  some  shady  nook,  where  we  could  enjoy  the  glory  of  the  fresh 
morning,  were  very  pleasant.  She  would  read  or  talk,  and  I  loved 
to  hear  her  do  both.     One  morning  we  were  on  our  way  to  the  Green 


MV  CHILDHOOD  AND  CHILDHOOD'S  HOME.  29 

when  we  saw  some  unfortunate  women  who  were  using  profane  lan- 
guage.    I  shuddered  and  exclaimed: 

"Oh!  the  wretches!  They  ought  all  to  be  tied  together  and  cast 
into  the  Clyde."     I  did  not  think  of  their  language  as  being  sinful,  but 

only  as  offensive  to  polite  ears.     Miss  H looked  at  me  and  asked, 

in  a  kind  voice  : 

"What  makes  us  to  diifer  from  them,  my  dear?" 

I  felt  indignant  at  the  question,  but  did  not  answer.  Again  she 
asked : 

"What  is  it  makes  us  better  than  these  poor  creatures?" 

I  answered,  curtly,  "I  don't  know." 

She  said  that  grace  made  us  to  differ;  grace  kept  us  better  than 
those  poor  unfortunates.  Grace!  I  mentally  exclaimed.  I  do  not 
know  what  it  is.  I  never  heard  of  it;  at  least,  I  have  never  noted 
the  word  if  I  have  heard  it  before.     I  was  sorely  puzzled  to  know  what 

grace  was,  but  I  could  not  ask  Miss  H .     So  we  walked  on  to  the 

Green  and  took  our  seat  by  the  fountain  in  silence.  She  took  out  a 
book  that  was  new  and  strangely  interesting.  It  was  not  a  novel,  yet 
it  was  very  novel.  It  was  a  dream  dreamed  by  a  poor  man  in  a  prison 
cell.  The  dreamer  was  no  other  than  John  Bunyan,  and  his  dream 
the  Pilgrims  Progress.  I  did  not  understand  the  design  of  the  book, 
but  it  kept  me  spellbound  till  I  had  heard  all  of  his  dream  read.  As 
I  had  admired  Scott's  heroines  for  the  various  beauties  of  their  charac- 
ters, so  did  I  now  admire  Miss  H ;  and  she  neither  read  novels,  nor 

attended  balls  or  theaters,  but  there  was  a  new  beauty  (to  me)  about 
her  that  I  could  not  define.  I  had  a  great  desire  to  be  like  her,  but 
then  I  must  give  up  that  which  was  very  dear  to  me — all  worldly  amuse- 
ments— and,  as  they  had  never  done  me  harm,  but  had  given  me  great 
pleasure,  I  could  not,  would  not,  give  them  up.  I  loved  them  too 
well.  The  reason  why  Miss  H did  not  indulge  in,  or  have  pleas- 
ure in  such  things  was,  I  thought,  because  she  was  too  old.  She  was 
twenty-six  or  eight  years  of  age.  I  did  not  appreciate  high  and  holy 
motives  for  ignoring  the  follies  of  the  world.  She  had  a  pocket  Bible 
out  of  which  she  would  read  little  bits,  and  all  this  reading  was  new 
to  me.  I  saved  up  money  enough  to  buy  me  a  Bible  of  my  own,  and 
began  to  read  it  as  I  would  a  new  novel;  and  no  novel  disclosed  such 
wonders  as  did  this  wonderful  book.  Peter  being  sent  by  his  Master 
to  bring  money  from  out  of  a  fish's  mouth;  Christ  turning  water  to 
wine,  and  feeding  thousands  with  a  few  loaves  and  fishes;  poor  little 
Rhoda  being  so  frightened  at  hearing  Peter's  voice  at  the  door,  think- 


30  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

ing  it  was  his  ghost,  pleased  me  wonderfully.  I  saw,  every  time  I  read 
the  Bible,  new  beauties;  but  I  had  to  read  by  stealth,  as  I  was  afraid 

to  be  seen  reading  it,  and  I  was  ashamed  to  tell  Miss  H .    I  thought 

she  might  laugh  at  my  ignorance,  so  I  kept  all  to  myself.     Miss  H 

had  a  truly  missionary  spirit.  On  Sunday  mornings  she  would  tread 
the  lanes  and  back  slums  of  the  city,  carrying  to  the  poor  inhab- 
itants the  bread  of  life,  in  tracts  and  in  conversation.  She  often 
wished  that  she  could  carry  bread  to  the  body  as  well  as  to  the  minds 
of  the  poor.  I  was  her  constant  companion  on  these  excursions. 
Such  scenes  of  misery  as  we  sometimes  witnessed  were  awful  to  me. 
One  dark  den  of  misery  and  filth  we  entered  on  a  bright,  sunshiny 
Sunday  morning,  but  the  brightness  of  the  sun's  rays  could  not  pene- 
trate the  dismal  gloom  of  that  dwelling.  We  clambered  up  a  broken 
stairway,  every  moment  expecting  to  fall  through.  We  reached  a  gar- 
ret by  cautiously  groping  our  way.     Miss  H knocked  at  the  door 

and  a  feeble  voice  said : 

"  Come  in! "  and  we  went  in.  We  could  not  see  at  first,  the  place 
was  so  dark.  The  skylight  was  begrimed  with  dirt,  and  the  broken 
panes  stuffed  with  foul  rags.  On  the  middle  of  the  floor  lay  an 
old  woman  on  a  bundle  of  rags,  with  hardly  any  covering  on  her, 
and   no   furniture  of  any  kind   in  the  room.      We   stood  while  we 

stayed.       Miss  H asked  this  aged  woman  about  her  soul,  her 

family  and  her  circumstances.  The  old  creature  began  to  cnrse  and 
swear,  saying  her  family  had  all  left  her  to  starve  and  die;  she 
had  nothing  to  eat;  no  money  to  buy  anything.  She  said  there  was 
no  hope   for  her   here   or   hereafter;    she  was  going   to   h — 1;    she 

wanted  no  religion,  no  rant;  she  had  served  the  d 1  all  her  days, 

and  she  was  going  right  to  him;  she  wished  us  to  leave  her  and  let  her 
alone ;  she  would  soon  be  dead.     I  was  horrified  at  her  blasphemies. 

Miss  H took  some  comfortable  things  to  this  old  sinner  shortly 

after  this,  but  she  was  dead  and  in  a  pauper's  grave,  and  another  fam- 
ily occupied  the  room,  who  did  not  know  anything  about  the  old  wo- 
man or  her  family.  The  scene  in  the  garret  made  a  sad  impression  on 
my  mind. 

We  visited  another  house,  whose  exterior  was  similar  to  the  one  we 
had  left,  but  oh!  how  different  the  interior!  Two  aged  maiden  sisters 
occupied  a  room.  Though  the  furniture  was  scant,  it  was  scrupulously 
clean.  The  floor,  the  bench,  the  backless  chair,  and  the  old  deal 
table  were  as  white  as  sand  and  water  could  make  them.  The  walls 
were  whitewashed,  without  a  cobweb  in  the  corners;  the  broken  panes 


MY  CHILDHOOD  AND  CHILDHOOD  S  HOME.  3I 

were  replaced  very  neatly,  by  a  newspaper  pasted  over  the  openings. 
The  garments  worn  by  these  two  women  were  meagre  in  the  extreme, 
but  well  patched  and  clean.  The  little  they  had  was  well  taken  care 
of.  The  elder  sister  was  a  confirmed  invalid;  the  younger  one  went 
out  to  do  day's  work,  and  so  tried  to  keep  both.  They  were  cheerful 
and  happy.  I  wondered  at  this.  The  secret  of  the  Lord  was  hidden 
in  them,  and  gave  them  joy  and  peace.  They  were  glad  to  see  me 
with  their  friend  Miss  H .  They  talked  on  matters  of  eternal  im- 
port, of  which  I  kn^w  nothing.  I  concluded,  however,  that  the  sis- 
ters were  pious.  I  asked  one  of  them,  in  a  whisper  when  I  was  leav- 
ing, if  I  might  come  and  see  them  again.  A  bright,  cheerful,  "Yes, 
hinny,"  was  the  answer.  I  wondered  how  these  poor  women  could 
thank  God  for  what  they  had  not,  viz. :  comforts.  I  noted  the  great 
difference  between  the  old  woman  who  died  and  these  two.  I  won- 
dered if  grace  made  the  difference.  What  is  grace?  was  my  mental 
cry.  A  week  after  my  first  visit  to  these  poor  women  I  started 
to  visit  the  same  humble  tenement,  but  the  houses  were  so  much 
alike  I  could  not  tell  one  from  another,  and  I  had  some  difficulty  in 
finding  it.  I  did  not  know  the  name  of  the  women,  and  when  I  went 
into  a  wrong  house  I  asked  the  people  if  they  could  tell  me  where  two 
old  maiden  sisters,  who  were  very  pious,  lived. 

"Very  pious?"  was  repeated,  with  a  laugh;   "well,  that's  good." 

I  got  away  from  there  as  quickly  as  I  could.  I  left  out  "pious"  at 
the  next  house,  and  asked  for  the  sisters. 

"Go  home  and  find  out  the  name  of  the  sisters,  then  we  may  be 
able  to  tell  you  where  they  live." 

Nothing  daunted,  I  hunted  them  up;  but  I  was  tired,  for  I  carried  a 
good-sized  bundle.  I  had  a  cheerful  welcome  from  the  sisters.  The 
one  was  sick  in  bed,  the  other  sitting  by  her.  They  had  no  fire,  though 
the  day  was  cold.  I  sat  some  time  ere  I  could  tell  them  what  I  came 
for.  At  last  I  began  to  cry  and  said  I  hoped  they  would  not  be  angry 
with  me  for  what  I  had  done.  They,  much  concerned,  asked  what 
bad  I  done.  I  told  them  I  had  brought  them  a  bundle  of  old  clothes 
and  things. 

"They  are  all  in  the  bundle ;  and  here  is  a  pound  (five  dollars)  in  this 
little  bag  that  I  begged  for  you." 

An  exclamation  of  "Thank  God!"  with  clasped  hands  and  up- 
turned eyes,  came  from  both  sisters  at  once.  Then,  with  tearful  eyes, 
they  turned  to  me  and  said: 

"God  has  heard  our  prayers,  and  sent  you  to  our  relief.     He  feeds 


32  THE  STORV  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE, 

the  young  ravens  when  they  cry."  Then  they  sent  up  a  burst  of  grati- 
tude to  their  heavenly  Father,  then  to  me.  I  told  them  that  God  did 
not  send  me,  I  had  just  come,  and  nobody  knew  anything  about  it.  I 
began  to  feel  afraid  that  they  would  not  like  it.  Ella  asked  me  if  I 
would  stay  with  Nannie  a  few  minutes,  till  she  would  run  and  buy 
some  coals  to  make  a  fire  for  her.  While  she  was  gone,  I  opened  the 
bundle  and  put  the  various  articles  on  the  bed.  I  saw  I  was  giving 
pleasure,  and  I  gained  courage.  I  had  a  package  of  sugar,  one  of  tea, 
one  of  barley,  and  a  pot  of  jam.  While  I  was  displaying  the  contents 
of  the  bundle  to  the  sick  woman,  she  was  asking  God  to  send  blessings 
down  upon  my  young  head,  and  lead  me  to  Himself.  I  was  well 
pleased  with  what  I  had  done,  because  it  gave  pleasure.  That  morn- 
ing they  had  neither  meat,  money,  nor  coal;  nor  did  they  know  from 
whence  anything  would  or  could  be  obtained.  Ella  had  come  home 
from  a  fruitless  endeavor  to  get  a  few  shillings  from  a  lady  for^  whom 
she  had  done  some  work;  but  it  was  not  convenient  for  the  rich  woman 
to  give  to  the  poor,  half-starved  creature  the  little  that  she  worked  very 
hard  for. 

"It  will  be  more  convenient  for  me  to  pay  you  Monday;  call  then." 

Poor  Ella  did  not  like  to  tell  the  haughty  dame  that  her  sister  might 
be  dead  ere  Monday,  if  she  could  not  procure  fire  and  food  for  her  ere 
that  time.  The  rent  of  their  room  was  due  on  Monday,  and  if  they 
could  not  pay,  their  little  all  would  be  taken  from  them.  When  I  went 
in,  poor  Nannie  was  trying  to  strengthen  her  sister's  faith,  by  telling 
her  that  God  hears  the  raven's  cry.  While  the  sick  one  was  telling  me 
what  they  had  been  talking  about,  she  said: 

"And  to  think  a  young  girl,  that  we  never  saw  but  once,  was  God's 
messenger  to  us  to  bring  money,  meat,  coals  and  clothes.  Oh !  he  is 
a  prayer-hearing  and  a  prayer-answering  God,  and  who  can  doubt  his 
goodness!" 

I  listened  to  this  language  with  profound  awe;  it  was  new  to  me.  I 
thought,  if  they  were  thankful  for  so  little,  what  ought  I  to  feel?  But 
I  did  not  know;   I  was  poor  and  blind.     Nannie  asked  me: 

"Do  you  wonder  that  we  say  God  sent  you,  when  you  know  how 
we  were  when  you  came?" 

I  said:  "Last  Sunday,  when  I  was  here,  I  thought  I  would  try  and 
get  a  little  money  and  a  few  things  for  you  from  some  of  our  acquaint- 
ances, for  they  have  plenty;  but  I  began  to  think  that  I  had  taken  too 
great  liberty  with  you,  so  I  deserve  no  thanks,  and  when  the  money  is 
all  spent,  I  shall  try  to  get  more  for  you." 


MY  CHILDHOOD  AND  CHILDHOOD'S  HOME.  33- 

Before  I  had  the  power  to  do  more  for  these  good  women,  Nannie 
had  doffed  her  rags,  and  donned  her  royal  robes.  She  had  gone  to  the 
home  where  she  would  suffer  no  more,  or  be  cold,  or  sick — whefe  she 
was  happy  evermore.  ^Vhere  was  the  other  old  woman  who  had  died 
in  the  garret?  We  could  almost  say,  "The  one  had  been  taken,  and 
the  other  left." 

"Tread  softly,  bow  the  head,  in  reverent  silence  bow; 
No  passing  bell  doth  toll,  yet  an  immortal  soul 

Is  passing  now. 
Stranger,  however  great,  with  lowly  reverence  bow; 
There's  One  in  that  poor  shed,  One  by  that  paltry  bed, 
Greater  than  thou." 

I  was  still  a  stranger  to  God  and  his  Christ.  I  thought  myself  very 
pious.  I  read  my  Bible,  to  try  to  discover  what  grace  was.  I  had  not 
felt  the  exceeding  sinfulness  of  sin,  though  I  had  felt  that  I  was  a  cumberer 
of  the  ground.    I  was  quite  pleased  with  the  work  that  I  had  done  for  the 

sisters;  I  hoped  to  find  more  such  work  to  do.    Miss  H was  pleased 

with  my  outward  conduct,  as  well  as  myself.  Indeed,  I  thought  I  was 
a  model  girl.  I  knew  my  danger.  At  this  time,  I  read,  in  Paul's  letter 
to  the  Ephesians,  second  and  fourth  verses:  "For  by  grace  are  ye  saved 
through  faith,  and  that  not  of  yourselves;  it  is  the  gift  of  God.  Not  of 
works  lest  any  man  should  boast."  Here  was  the  ax  laid  to  the  root 
of  my  good  works.  My  trust  and  pleasure  in  them  were  all  gone.  I 
was  troubled.  What  could  I  do?  What  must  I  do?  Evidently, 
by  grace  and  faith  I  was  to  be  saved,  and  I  had  neither.  They 
were  God's  gifts.  Would  he  give  them  to  me?  I  was  greatly 
trouWed  and  sorely  puzzled;  but  I  searched  the  Scriptures,  for  in  them 
I  thought  to  find  the  way  to  happiness.  I  was  very  unhappy.  I  had 
no  counselor,  no  friend  to  whom  I  could  tell  what  I  felt,  or  what  I 
wanted;  and  what  could  a  poor,  ignorant  girl  do,  but  search  for  the 
treasure  that  was  thus  far  hidden  flom  her.  In  Colossians  iii.  2,  I 
read:  "Set  your  affections  on  things  above,  not  on  things  on  the  earth." 
liut  my  affections  were  all  on  earth — earthly.  And  here  was  a  com- 
mand that  I  knew  not  how  to  obey.  Again  I  read:  "Lay  up  for  your- 
seJves  treasure  in  heaven.  For  where  your  treasure  is,  there  will  your 
heart  be  also."  Again  I  read:  "Whosoever  shall  confess  me  before 
men,  him  shall  I  also  confess  before  my  Father,  which  is  in  heaven." 
"I  am  come  to  set  a  man  at  variance  against  his  father,  and  the 
daughter  against  her  mother."  "And  a  man's  foes  are  they  of  his  own 
household."  "  He  th.ii  lovcih  f;ithcT  or  mother  more  than  me,  is  not 
3 


34  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

worthy  of  me;  and  he  that  taketh  not  his  cross,  and  foUoweth  not  aftei 
me,  is  not  worthy  of  me."  Again  "the  Son  of  Man  is  come  to  seek 
and  to  save  the  lost."  I  was  beginning  to  feel,  after  reading  the  differ- 
ent passages  of  Holy  Writ,  that  I  was,  with  all  my  self-sufficient  ideas 
of  piety,  not  safe.  But  what  must  I  do  ?  often  burst  from  my  sad 
heart,  and  as  often  sent  me  to  the  Bible,  where  I  was  told  to  "Knock, 
and  it  shall  be  opened  to  you."  Here  was  something  for  me  to  do; 
but,  then,  all  I  could  do  was  of  no  avail.  I  had  thought  that  I  was 
doing  good,  and  was  good;  but  I  felt  that  I  had  not  the  gifts  of  grace 
and  faith,  and  I  did  not  know  what  to  do  to  deserve  the  gifts  or  earn 
them.  1  had  thanked  God  that  I  was  better  than  others.  The  more 
I  read,  the  more  I  felt  self-condemned.  All  my  self-righteousness  left 
me;  I  was  brought  to  feel  that  I  was  a  sinner  in  the  sight  of  God,  and 
I  asked  God  to  be  merciful  to  me  as  such.  I  was  helpless,  hopeless; 
I  was  afraid  of  God;  I  was  very  miserable.  I  would  cry  out  in  the 
night,  "God  be  merciful  to  me,  a  sinner."  I  cried  with  my  whole 
heart  to  the  Lord  to  save  me,  but  He  did  not  seem  to  hear  or  attend 
to  my  cry.  My  spirit  was  overwhelmed  within  me.  Tears  were  my 
food,  I  could  not  eat  or  sleep.  Oh!  the  misery,  of  .those  days!  I  prayed 
and  wept,  and  read  the  Bible.  My  soul's  salvation  was  now  my  only 
concern.  I  was  willing  to  give  up  all  my  worldly  pleasures.  Theaters, 
balls,  dancing  parties,  all  and  everything  I  prized  most  highly,  I  was 
willing  to  give  up,  if  God  would  accept  the  sacrifice.  I  read  in  God's 
word,  "Whosoever  he  be  of  you  that  forsaketh  not  all  he  hath,  he  can 
not  be  my  disciple.  He  that  loves  father  or  mother  more  than  he 
loves  me,  is  not  worthy  of  me."  Shall  I  have  to  give  up  my  mother, 
I  exclaimed,  my  heart's  idol?  "Children,  obey  your  parents  in  the 
Lord,  for  that  is  right,"  was  another  injunction,  and  gladly  would  I 
have  obeyed  my  mother  in  the  Lord.  The  Lord,  however,  was  not  in 
all  her  thoughts.  The  world  was  her  idol,  and  she  worshiped  at  its 
shrine.  I  had  never  dared  to  di^bey  my  mother  in  anything,  and  now 
I  am  to  obey  her  only  in  the  Lord.  As  often  as  I  could,  I  stole  away 
to  read  my  Bible,  but  this  I  could  not  do  with  impunity.  I  was  jeered 
at,  and  taunted  with  my  pretence  to  be  religious.  I  was  only  a  young 
hypocrite;  I  was  no  better  than  other  girls,  and  why  should  I  pretend? 
I  had  a  great  many  petty  persecutions,  that  I  tried  to  endure.  I  was 
told  that  I  was  neglecting  everything  for  the  sake  of  reading  the  Bible, 
and  I  must  quit  that  nonsense.  I  said,  I  was  told  to  search  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  I  asked  my  mother  to  read  them  with  me,  and  she  would 
become  better  and  happier.     She  threatened  to  turn  me  out  of  the 


MY  CHILDHOOD  AND  CHILDHOOD  S  HOME.  .  35 

house,  if  I  dared  to  talk  to  her  in  that  fashion.  She  said  she  would 
cure  me  of  all  that  nonsense  and  folly  soon;  such  folly  was  not  to  be 
tolerated.  I  heard  her  one  day  deliberately  enter  into  an  engagement 
with  an  old  roue,  who  was  rich  and  old  enough  to  be  my  grandfather,  to 
give  me  to  him  to  wife,  if  he  would  allow  her  to  keep  me  at  home  till  I 
had  done  going  to  school.  Some.worldly  benefit  was  to  accrue  to  the 
family  through  this  bargain.  My  heart  rebelled  and  revolted.  I  was 
sickened  at  the  horrid  thought  that  my  mother  could  plot  against  me 
so,  but  I  resolved  never  to  marry  the  bad  old  man.  I  could  not  obey 
mother  in  this,  let  the  consequences  be  what  they  would. 

A  near  relative  of  my  father's  had  an  only  daughter  about  to  be 
married.  I  was  invited  to  spend  a  few  weeks  with  the  family,  who 
were  wealthy,  and  the  wedding  was  to  be  a  grand  affair,  I  was  barely 
permitted  to  make  the  visit.  My  mother,  having  married  so  soon  after 
my  father's  death,  gave  offense  to  his  family,  and  ever  after  there  was 
a  wide  breach  between  the  families,  which  was  never  closed.  The 
grand  preparations  for  the  wedding  and  the  wedding  itself,  made  me, 
for  a  time,  forget  my  great  anxieties  about  my  soul's  eternal  interests. 
The  grand  event  was  over,  the  bride  went  on  a  tour  to  some  distant 
place,  and  quiet  was  somewhat  restored.  Then  a  great  temptation  as- 
sailed me.     My  relatives  said: 

"Eliza,  now  we  have  no  child,  we  have  given  Maggie  away.  Will 
you  come  to  us  and  be  the  child  of  our  adoption?  You  shall  take 
Maggie's  place.  You  shall  have  everything  money  can  procure.  You 
shall  have  plenty  of  fine  dresses,  go  to  the  theater,  opera  and  parties, 
just  as  Maggie  did,  and  we  will  love  you,  and  take  good  care  of  you." 

My  heart  yearned  for  love,  and  I  felt  like  saying,  "Yes,  I  will  come  if 
my  mother  will  allow  me,  and  then  she  will  not  traffic  me  away  to  that 
hateful,  wicked,  old  man."  While  I  was  longing  for  some  one  to  love 
mc,  and  everything  was  looking  fair  and  promising  for  my  friends  to  do 
so,  a  passage  of  Scripture  crossed  my  mind  like  a  flash  of  light:  "What 
Avill  it  profit  you  if  you  gain  the  whole  world  and  lose  your  own  soul?" 
I  trembled  at  the  words,  as  they  rushed  across  my  memory.  "\Miat 
must  I  do?"  I  asked  myself.  I  postponed  my  answer  till  I  could  con- 
sult my  mother.  I  went  home  and  consulted  my  Bible,  and  read:  "As 
a  father  pitieth  his  children,  so  the  Lord  pitieth  them  that  fear  him." 
I  cried  to  the  Lord  to  have  pity  upon  me,  for  my  mother  had  told  me 

that  she  had  given  me  to  Mr.  H ,  and  I  was  to  marry  him  when  I 

was  older.  I  burst  out  with  the  words,  "Never,  while  I  live,  shall  J 
marry  that  hateful,  hated,  wicked,  old  wretch."    I  begged  of  my  mother 


36  THE  ai  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

not  to  think  of  such  a  thing,  for  I  would  rather  die  than  nitiriy  him. 
She  said: 

"Oh,  when  you  are  older  you  will  think  differently." 
"Never!  never!     I  hate  him!  I  am  afraid  of  him!     I  can  not,  will 
not  have  him,  were  I  ever  so  old!"     She  said: 

"We  shall  see  if  you  dare  to  disobey  me.    Does  your  pretended  re- 
ligion teach  disobedience  to  parents?" 

"No,"  I  said,  "we  are  to  obey  our  parents  in  the  Lord." 
This  was  for  me  a  bold  speech.  My  mother  said  she  wished  to  have 
no  discussion  with  me:  I  must  either  consent  to  obey  her  implicitly  or 
leave  her  house  forever.  I  had  come  to  the  junction  of  two  roads  in 
my  life's  journey.  The  one  was  very  broad,  full  of  flowers,  pleasant 
companions  and  worldly  pleasures,  and  led  down  to  endless  darkness ; 
the  other,  narrow,  thorny  and  difficult  to  climb — but  it  led  to  a  fairer 
world  beyond.  Which  road  should  I  take?  I  did  not  hesitate,  for  did 
I  not  read:  "If  ye  love  father  or  mother  more  than  me,  ye  are  not 
worthy  of  me."  I  was  in  sore  trouble  to  give  up  my  mother;  but  she 
said  I  must  go,  and,  with  a  breaking  heart,  I  hid  my  Bible  under  my 
cloak  and  went  forth  into  the  dark  world  alone.  I  knew  not  where  to 
go.  I  now  had  no  home,  unless  to  go  to  my  rich  relatives,  whose 
house  and  hearts  were  open  to  receive  me,  with  plenty  of  the  pleasures 
of  life  for  the  poor  little  houseless  one.  But  the  word  of  truth  met  me 
here  again:  "What  will  it  profit  you  if  you  gain  the  whole  world  and 
lose  your  own  soul?"  My  heart  was  sorely  troubled.  My  precious 
Bible  gave  me  such  a  world  of  new  ideas,  and  every  word  I  read  from 
it  had  a  literal  meaning  to  me.  John  wrote  in  his  gospel:  "Let  not 
your  heart  be  troubled:  ye  believe  in  God,  believe  also  in  me.  In  my 
Father's  house  are  many  mansions:  if  it  were  not. so,  I  would  have 
told  you.  I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you;  *  *  *  that  where  I  am, 
there  ye  may  be  also."  My  poor  heart  cried  out,  Is  there  one  for  me? 
Where  shall  I  go  for  a  present  shelter?  Where  find  food  and  clothes? 
' '  Take  no  thought  for  your  life,  what  ye  shall  eat,  or  what  ye  shall 
drink;  nor  yet  for  your  body,  what  ye  shall  put  on.  Is  not  the  life 
more  than  meat,  and  the  body  than  raiment?  Behold  the  fowls  of  the 
air:  for  they  sow  not;  *  ^  *  yet  your  heavenly  Father  feedeth  them. 
Are  ye  not  much  better  than  they?"  "But  seek  ye  first  the  kingdom 
of  God,  and  his  righteousness ;  and  all  these  things  shall  be  added  unto 
you.  Take  therefore  no  thought  for  the  morrow."  I  went  forth  with 
•  a  crushed  heart  seeking  the  kingdom  of  God,    I  had  given  up  all,  even 


MY  CHILDHOOD  AND  CHILDHOOD'S  HOME.  37 

my  much-loved  mother,  for  the  sake  of  my  soul,  and  I  felt  that  my 
soul  was  not  yet  saved.  ' 

I  went  to  Miss  H .     I  told  her  I  had  to  'leave  my  mother,  but 

did  not  say  she  had  turned  me  away  from  her.     INIiss  H took  me 

to  her  lodging-house.  I  told  her  that  I  had  no  money  to  pay  for  my 
board,  but  I  was  willing  to  work  for  money  to  pay  for  it.  She  got  me 
some  fancy  work  from  the  house  in  which  she  was  employed.  She 
also  had  an  old  lady  friend,  who  was  a  pious  woman,  who  she  said 
would  take  care  of  me  and  I  could  live  with  her.  Tears  were  my  only 
thanks  for  her  kindness.  She  saw  that  I  was  not  happy,  but  she  never 
questioned  me.  I  got  what  work  I  could  do,  paid  my  board  and  read 
my  Bible  constantly,  to  find  the  path  in  which  I  was  to  walk.  I  went 
to  different  churches,  to  learn  from  the  various  preachers  more  than  I 
knew,  but  the  precious  word  of  God  taught  me  more  than  all  put  to- 
gether. Sometimes,  while  walking  on  the  street,  a  feeling  of  utter 
desolation  would  come  over  me.  I  would  rush  into  a  close,  cover 
my  face  with  my  hands,  and  cry  to  God  to  have  pity  upon  me  and  not 
to  cast  me  away  from  Him,  for  I  had  nobody  else  to  talk  to.  I  found 
my  way  into  a  Scotch  Baptist  Church  one  Sunday.  They  partook  of 
the  Lord's  Supper,  had  fellowship,  exhortation  and  prayers,  and  sang 
hymns.  The  service  was  different  here  from  any  I  had  ever  seen. 
My  mother  utterly  despised  the  Baptists,  and  I  was  taught  to  dislike 
them.  Their  mode  of  baptism,  or  "ducking  one  another,"  was  con- 
sidered very  indelicate. 

I  went  back  to  this  church  again;  for  I  liked  to  hear  them  read  so 
much  of  the  Bible  as  they  did.  One  Sunday  a  young  lady  rose  up  in 
church  and  spoke,  and  told  what  she  felt  about  religion,  and  repeated 
a  creed,  or  what  she  believed.  She  said  a  great  deal  that  I  did  not 
understand.  I  was  perfectly  amazed  at  the  proceeding — how  she  could 
remember  and  repeat  so  much.  When  she  sat  down  a  gentleman  rose 
and  said : 

"Bro.  M and  myself  have  waited  upon  Miss  McL ,  and  we 

have  found  her  well  qualified  to  be  a  member  of  the  church,  and  we 
recommend  her  to  the  church  for  baptism." 

Was  this  what  was  meant  by  "Whosoever  confesseth  me  before  men, 
him  shall   I  confess  before  my  Father  and  his   angels?"     As  Miss 

McL passed  me  on  her  way  down  stairs  to  the  vestry  room,  to 

]jrepare  for  the  immersion,  and  several  lady  friends  with  her,  she  looked 
radiantly  happy.  Tears  that  would  come,  and  a  choking  sob  from 
my  poor  heart,  caused  me  to  cover  my  face  with  my  hands,  and  to 


38  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

ask  mentally  if  she  were  to  be  taken  and  I  left.  I  was  in  a  perfect 
agony  of  grief;  I  sobbed  aloud  in  church — I  could  not  help  it.  Oh! 
if  an  invitation  had  been  offered  to  me  to  come  to  Christ  at  that  time 
I  should  gladly  have  accepted  it;  but  no  such  invitation  was  .given. 
After  the  baptism  the  right  hand  of  fellowship  was  given,  and  the 
Lord's  Supper  partaken  of.  Several  portions  of  Scripture  were  read. 
One  was:  "Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor,  and  are  heavy  laden, 
and.  I  will  give  you  rest.  Take  my  yoke  upon  you,  and  learn  of  me- 
for  I  am  meek  and  lowly  in  heart :  and  ye  shall  find  rest  unto  your  souls. 
For  my  yoke  is  easy,  and  my  burden  is  light."  I  was  willing  to  learn, 
but  1  did  not  know  how  to  take  the  yoke.  Another  read  of  the  Phil- 
ippian  jailer's  cry:  "What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved?"  Oh!  I  said,  this 
has  been  my  cry  for  weeks.  "Believe  and  be  baptized.  Believe  on 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  thou  shalt  be  saved."  These  and  similar 
passages  were  read;  but  I  seemed  to  comprehend  nothing  that  was 
said,  for  as  soon  as  a  portion  of  Scripture  was  read,  telling  one  what 
he  ought  to  do,  the  speaker  would  add:  "But  of  yourselves  you  can 
do  nothing."  I  thought  it  strange  that  the  Bible  told  me  to  do  some- 
thing, and  these  exhorters  said  it  was  impossible  to  do  it.  Why  did 
God  tell  us  to  do  that  which  was  impossible.  I  was  mystified  by  what 
I  heard.  A  hymn  was  sung,  the  words  of  which  took  a  firm  hold  of 
my  mind.     They  were  very  beautiful.     They  ran  thus: 

"Baptized  into  your  Savior's  death, 

Your  souls  to  sin  must  die; 
With  Christ  your  Lord  you  live  anew, 

With  Christ  ascend  on  high. 
There  by  I  lis  Fatlier's  side  He  sits, 

Enthroned  divinely  fair — 
Yet  07vns  Himself  your  Bro^/ier  still, 

And  your  Forerunner  there. 
Rise  from  these  earthly  trifles !     Rise 

On  wings  of  faith  and  love ; 
Above  your  choicest  treasure  lies, 

And  be  your  hearts  above." 

The  words  all  seemed  familiar  to  me,  yet  I  had  not  heard  the  hymn 
sung  before.  "He  owns  Himself  your  Brother  still! "  Who  was  He 
that  owned  Himself  my  Brother?  Who  was  my  Forerunner?  Who 
sat  enthroned  beside  His  Father?  Christ  evidently  was  meant;  but 
would  He  ovvn  Himself  my  Brother?  Would  He  love  me? — me,  the 
forlorn  orphan?  These  questions  filled  my  thoughts  all  the  way  from 
church.     As  soon  as  I  got  my  Bible  in  hand  I  forgot  to  eat  my  dinner. 


MY  CHILDHOOD  AND  CHILDHOOD  S  HOME.  39 

I  was  hunting  up  all  the  passages  I  could  remember  that  would  give 
me  light  upon  the  subject  nearest  to  my  heart.  I  went  off  to  afternoon 
service,  still  anxious  to  learn  more  of  Him  of  whom  I  had  heard  that 
morning.  My  spirit  was  broken,  and  my  heart  contrite  and  sorrowful. 
The  day  was  somewhat  cloudy;  my  thoughts  were  more  so.  I  went 
along  one  of  the  most  retired  streets,  my  sad  eyes  bent  on  the  ground, 
all  the  time  repeating:    "He  owns  Himself  your  Brother." 

"Oh!  I  wish  I  knew  whether  this  Brother  has  anything  to  do  with 
my  soul's  salvation.     Teach  me  and  lead  me,  O  my  Father!  " 

All  at  once  I  was  startled  by  a  sudden  light  shining  on  part  of  the 
street,  while  the  rest  remained  in  a  dim  shadow,  as  it  had  been  all 
along.  Now,  what  I  saw,  whether  it  was  an  optical  illusion  or  a 
reality,  I  will  not  say;  but  to  me,  at  the  time,  it  was  no  illusion,  but  a 
blessed  reality — a  reality  that  flooded  my  soul  with  light,  as  it  did  the 
pavement  on  which  it  shone.  It  filled  my  heart  with  hope  and  joy. 
I  realized  for  the  first  time  who  the  Brother  was — my  Brother.  The 
picture  was  painted  on  my  heart  as  with  sunbeams,  and  is  as  fresh  and 
beautiful  to-day  as  it  was  on  that  memorable  Sunday.  Shall  I  describe 
the  picture  as  I  saw  it,  or  thought  I  saw  it?  I  suddenly  raised  my 
eyes  from  the  bright  spot  on  the  pavement,  and,  looking  upward,  I 
saw  a  bank  of  pure  white,  fleecy  clouds,  and  in  bold  relief  was  hung 
a  human  figure,  nailed  to  a  cross,  the  lower  part  concealed  by  the 
clouds.  The  sublime  beauty  of  that  face  surpassed  everything  I  had 
ever  seen  or  imagined;  the  large,  love-lit  eyes,  full  of  pity,  penetrated 
my  very  soul,  and,  as  I  have  said,  inspired  me  with  hope  and  joy  and 
peace.  Feelings  so  new  and  so  strangely  happy  were  to  me  almost  as 
wonderful  as  the  picture  that  I  saw.  I  was  not  superstitious,  so  I  did 
not  think  that  I  saw  anything  that  was  not  a  real  presence.  I  stood 
looking  for  some  time,  then  left  the  spot  joyous  and  happy-hearted. 
I  had  found  Him  at  last,  who  died  that  I  might  live.  I  turned  to  look 
again,  but  the  brightness  had  left  the  pavement;  yet  it  shone  in  ray 
heart.  I  felt  as  if  I  could  never  be  unhappy  or  downcast  again — I 
had  found  Christ  and  He  was  my  Brother.  I  now  wondered  at  my 
own  ignorance.  Many  things  appeared  perfectly  plain  to  me  that  for- 
merly had  puzzled  me.  Everything  seemed  changed;  even  the  houses 
and  streets  had  a  more  cheerful  look.  I  went  up  the  chapel  steps 
with  lighter  feet  than  ever  before.  I  tried  to  pay  attention  to  what  was 
said,  but  I  could  think  of  nothing  but  Christ,  God's  Son,  hanging  on 
the  cross  for  me,  and  calling  Himself  my  Brother.  1  could  hardly 
contain  myself. 


40  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

Miss  H took  me  to  a  Methodist  prayer-meeting  that  night.     I 

heard  the  people  tell  their  experiences,  their  feelings,  and  I  know  not 
what — such  rambling  talk  I  had  never  heard,  as  it  was  the  first  meet- 
ing of  the  kind  I  had  ever  been  at.  Oh,  I  thought,  if  these  people 
only  knew  Christ  their  Savior,  and  had  Him  for  a  Brother,  they  would 
not  talk  such  nonsense.      I  longed  to  tell  of  Christ,  but  I  was  dumb. 

I  parted  with  Miss  H very  reluctantly  that  night;  I  wanted  to  tell 

her  of  my  new-found  happiness,  but  I  had  no  language  to  express  it. 

She  asked  me  what  ailed  me.  I  said,  "Oh,  nothing,"  and  left  her. 
I  read  that  night.in  my  Bible:  "Whosoever  shall  do  the  will  of  God, 
the  same  is  my  brother,  and  my  sister,  and  my  mother."  Well,  here 
was  I  with  Christ  for  my  Savior,  my  Brother,  and  if  I  would  do  God's 
will,  I  should  be  His  sister.  The  Bible  was  very  plain,  but  the  good 
Baptist  preachers  mystified  me.  Christ  said:  "If  you  will  do  God's 
will,"  etc.;  the  preachers  said  you  can  not  do  it.  I  said  I  shall  try  to 
do  God's  will.  I  went  on  searching  the  Scriptures — I  had  no  other 
guide  or  teacher.  But  the  Bible  to  me  was  its  own  interpreter,  and 
He,  the  Author,  made  it  plain.  I  read:  "Believe,  and  be  baptized." 
This  I  had  read  before,  but  did  not  understand  it.  Now  I  believed 
that  Christ  died  to  save  me,  and  I  was  baptized  when  I  was  a  baby. 
What  next?  I  kept  on  searching  for  the  treasures  which  lay  on  every 
page  of  the  precious  Bible.  Believe  and  be  baptized  seemed  to  cling 
to  my  thoughts.  I  began  to  doubt  whether  my  baby  sprinkling  was 
baptism.  Repentance  and  belief  were  to  come  before  baptism.  I 
wondered  if  dipping  or  ducking  was  the  baptism  of  the  Bible.     I  had 

seen  Miss  McL immersed,  but  she  had  not  been  sprinkled  when 

a  baby,  as  I  had  been.  Was  that  the  true  baptism  which  my  mother 
despised,  and  taught  me  to  dislike  as  a  thing  too  indelicate  to  practice? 
This  mode  was  repugnant  to  my  flesh;  but  I  was  willing  to  be  dipped 
in  fire  if  this  was  a  condition  to  sisterhood  in  Christ. 

The  English  Baptists  partook  of  the  Lord's  Supper  once  a  month, 
without  exhortation  from  the  Elders.  The  Scotch  Baptists  had  the 
Lord's  Supper  every  first  day  of  the  week.  These  were  nearer  to  the 
Bible  teaching  in  their  church  practice  than  the  other,  so  I  decided  to 
join  the  Scotch  Baptist  Church. 

Up  to  this  time  I  had  not  opened  my  lips  to  utter  one  word  about 
my  dark  days;  my  beclouded  thoughts;  my  crushing  misery;  the  des- 
pairing cries  I  sent  up  to  God  to  save  my  soul;  the  persecutions  I  had 
endured;  the  temptations  that  were  in  my  way ;  the  sacrifices  which  I 
had  made.     God  alone  knew  everything;  it  was  to  Him  I  told  every- 


MY  CHILDHOOD  AND  CHILDHOOD'S  HOME.  41 

thing,  and  He  alone  heard  my  despairing  cries,  and  Christ  alone  came 
to  my  relief.     In  my  present  happiness  I  had  forgotten  all  my  misery. 

I  asked  Miss  H if  she  knew  any  one  in  the  Scotch  Baptist  Church; 

I  wished  to  be  baptized,  and  join  the  Church.  She  said  she  knew  a 
lady  in  that  church,  who  knew  the  elders,  and  she  would  tell  them  my 
wish.  Forthwith  two  venerables  called  upon  me,  but  I  did  not  know 
why  they  came,  or  for  what  purpose.  I  stood  in  great  awe  of  them, 
and  this  awe  deepened  when  they  began  to  question  me.  They  asked 
me  why  I  had  applied  for  baptism.  I  said  the  Bible  told  me  to  l.)elieve 
and  be  baptized,  and  I  believed  and  wished  to  obey  the  Bible  com- 
mands. At  this  confession  the  two  good  men  exchanged  looks,  and 
then  they  asked  me  to  give  them  a  Christian  experience.     I  said : 

"I  do  not  know  what  that  is." 

"Not  know  what  that  is! "   exclaimed  they  both. 

"No,"  I  said;  "I  have  never  so  much  as  heard  of  a  Christian  ex- 
perience. I  have  heard  the  Methodists  give  experiences,  but  I  do  not 
know  what  they  mean." 

"You  must  not  have  been  well  taught,"  said  they. 

"No;  I  have  had  no  teacher,  and  no  book  to  learn  from  but  the 
Bible." 

"Do  you  know  our  creed?"  asked  they. 

"No;  for  I  do  not  know  any  one  in  your  church,  and  nothing  of 
religion  but  what  I  learned  in  the  Bible." 

"Why  do  you  wish  to  join  our  church,  then?" 

"Because  I  think  your  church  comes  nearer  to  what  the  Bible  teaches 
than  any  other." 

The  good  men  smiled  and  said  I  had  much  to  learn  before  they 
could  recommend  me  to  the  church  to  be  baptized.     I  asked : 

"What  have  I  to  learn?  Oh!  tell  me,  and  I  shall  learn  anything 
you  say.     I  do  want  to  be  baptized." 

"You  ought  not  to  be  in  such  haste,"  they  said. 

I  said:  "The  Philippian  jailer  was  baptized  as  soon  as  he  believed 
and  repented — in  the  same  night — and  I  wish  to  do  just  what  the  Bible 
tells  me." 

I  was  told  to  think  more  about  it,  and  get  more  instruction,  before 
I  thought  of  being  baptized. 

"I  have  no  one  to  instruct  me,"  I  said;  "and  I  have  no  books  but 
my  Bible.  I  burned  all  my  foolish  books,  as  the  Bible  tells  me  some 
men  did  who  believed  and  rc])ented."  (Acts  xix.  19.)  "The  Bible 
has  told  me  all  I  know,  and  1  wish  to  obey  it." 


42 


THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 


The  good  men  said  they  would  pray  for  me  that  God  would  pour 
out  his  Spirit  upon  me,  that  I  would  learn  more,  and  they  would  come 
and  see  me  again.  They  left  me  deluged  in  tears  and  full  of  grief, 
without  telling  me  what  to  learn  or  what  I  lacked.  I  went  to  my 
Guide-Book  and  read:  "All  things  whatsoever  ye  ask  in  my  name,  be- 
lieving, ye  shall  receive."  I  asked  God  to  tell  me  what  to  do  to  be 
baptized.  I  could  find  nothing  new  that  I  was  to  do.  To  be  baptized 
seemed  to  be  the  first  thing  to  be  done  after  believing  and  repenting, 
that  I  might  be  saved.  What  obstacle  was  in  my  way  I  knew  not. 
The  elders  said  it  was  want  of  knowledge,  but  they  did  not  say  what 
kind.  Oh!  how  I  prayed  to  God  for  the  right  sort  of  knowledge. 
Two  other  good  brethren  called  upon  me  to  question  me,  with  the 
same  result;  only  these  threw  a  thicker  vail  over  my  mind,  and  left  it 
more  bewildered  than  before.     I  was  asked  if  I  were  one  of  the  elect. 

"  I  do  not  know  what  elect  means,  and  I  can  not  tell  whether  I  am 
one,"  I  said.  "I  know  that  I  am.  very  ignorant  of  all  you  have  asked 
me,  but  I  do  know  that  I  am  a  sinner,  that  Christ  died  to  save  me,  and 
I  wish  to  obey  Him  by  being  baptized;  and  He  has  told  me  in  the 
Bible  that  where  my  treasure  is  there  will  my  heart  be  also.  Now, 
Jesus  Christ  is  my  treasure,  and  He  is  in  Heaven  and  my  heart  is  there 
also.  Oh!  I  can  not  say  all  I  feel  and  think  about  Jesus;  but  I  feel 
that  I  could  die  for  Him.  Will  you  let  me  be  baptized?  I  love  all 
who  love  Christ,  and  I  wish  to  be  among  them." 

"But,"  said  they,  "you  have  no  Christian  experience." 

"Oh,  no;  for  I  do  not  know  what  it  is." 

With  this  utterance  I  burst  into  tears,  and  sobbed  as  if  my  heart 
would  break.  I  thought  if  I  were  to  die,  what  would  become  of  me ! 
Would  God  reject  me  because  I  did  not  know  what  elect  was,  or 
whether  I  was  one  of  the  elect,  and  could  not  be  baptized  in  conse- 
quence of  my  ignorance.  "Believe,  and  be  baptized,  and  thou  shalt 
be  saved,"  was  a  positive  injunction  by  an  inspired  writer,  but  these 
good,  uninspired  men  said  you  must  do  more  ere  you  can  obey  your 
Lord;,  you  must  give  a  Christian  experience  before  you  are  a  Christian. 

"Tell  me  what  to  do,"  I  said. 

"You  can  do  nothing  of  your  own  self,"  they  said;  and  that  was 
true :  I  was  helpless  and  bewildered.  I  thought  the  Bible  told  me  ex- 
actly what  to  do,  but  these  elders  of  the  Baptist  Church  told  me  first 
to  do  more  than  the  Bible  told  me  to  do,  and  then  cruelly  told  me  I 
could  not  do  it,  and  I  could  not  be  baptized  until  I  did  do  it.  What 
inconsistency !     They  prayed  for  me  and  I  cried  all  the  time.     They 


MY  CHILDHOOD  AND  CHILDHOOD'S  HOME.  43 

gave  me  no  encouragement  to  hope  that  I  should  be  received  into  the 
church,  and  nothing  else  did  I  care  for.  For  weeks  and  months  I  went 
about  sorrowing;  1  could  not  eat  or  sleep;  I  was  sick  and  weary  with 
crying;  I  was  full  of  sorrow.  But  I  prayed  to  my  Father:  "Teach 
me  thy  way,  O  Lord:  lead  me  in  a  plain  path;"  "Thou  art  the  helper 
of  the  fatherless."  The  Psalms  of  David  were  very  sweet  to  me:  I 
could  pray  to  God,  and  express  my  trouble,  and  tell  my  wants  while 
reading  them.  ' '  Why  art  thou  cast  down,  O  my  soul  ?  and  why  art 
thou  disquieted  within  me?  Hope  in  God,  for  I  shall  yet  praise  him 
for  the  help  of  his  countenance."  Hope  in  God!  Yes,  I  will  hope 
in  God,  for  man  gives  me  no  hope — I  shall  wait.  I  did  not  have  to 
wait  long;  for  help  came  and  hope,  and  I  revived.  An  elder,  a  very 
old  gentleman,  came  to  see  me;  but  the  first  thing  I  said  to  him  was: 

"I  have  not  learned  the  Christian  experience  yet;  nor  can  I  tell 
whether  I  am  one  of  the  elect.  I  have  been  looking  in  the  Bible  for 
these  things,  and  I  can  not  find  them,  or  yet  what  they  mean." 

"What  did  you  find  in  the  Bible?"  he  asked. 

I  told  him  I  had  found  that  I  was  a  sinner,  and  that  Christ  died 
for  sinners,  and  I  believed  that  He  was  my  Savior,and  I  wished  to  obey 
Him  and  be  baptized.  "But  they  will  not  baptize  me  till  I  can  tell 
them  what  they  ask  me,  and  I  do  not  know  how.  I  wish  to  do  what 
Christ  tells  me,  for  He  does  not  contradict  Himself  as  they  do — first, 
to  tell  you  'to  do,'  then  say  you  'can  not  do'  what  they  tell  you  to  do, 
and  then  they  say  'you  must  do  it  ere  you  can  obey  your  Lord.'  I  do 
not  know  what  to  do,  I  am  so  unhappy  and  confused,  and  I  have  no 
one  to  teach  me  or  to  tell  me  what  to  do."  The  dear  old  man  put  his 
hand  upon  my  head  and  said: 

"You  are  one  of  Christ's  lambs;"  and,  with  a  trembling  voice,  he 
continued:  "Can  any  man  forbid  water  that  you  should  not  be  bap- 
tized?" 

"Oh,  Mr.  M e,  may  I  be  baptized?"  I  asked. 

"You  are  one  of  Christ's  lambs,  and  the  Church  is  commanded  to 
feed  them  with  the  sincere  milk  of  the  word,  that  they  may  grow 
thereby.  It  would  be  cruel,  as  well  as  dangerous,  to  send  you  to  the 
world  to  learn  what  it  is  the  duty  and  the  privilege  of  the  Church  to 
teach  you,  when  you  have  no  one  else  to  teach  you.  You  must  be 
brought  into  the  Church  and  fed  and  made  to  grow.  I  shall  certainly 
recommend  you  to  the  church  for  baptism." 

Oh!  how  that  old  saint  understood  me  and  entered  into  my  feelings, 
and  encouraged  me  to  tell  him  all  I  had  read,  and  all  I  felt  and  believed. 


44  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

I  told  him  I  had  prayed  to  God  to  help  me  to  know  what  to  say,  and 
I  thought  God  had  sent  him  to  me,  and  he  understood  me  better  than 
the  others  did. 

,'And  you,"  I  said,  "do  not  ask  questions  which  I  do  not  under- 
stand and  can  not  answer." 

The  dear  old  man  prayed  God  to  bless  me  and  guide  me  through 
life,  and  left  me  happier  than  I  had  been  for  many  a  day.  With  a 
lightened  heart  I  went  to  church  the  next  Sunday,  took  a  back  seat, 
humbly  awaiting  the  decision  of  the  church,  whether  they  would  receive 
the  trembling  one  into  their  fold.     My  heart  beat  violently  when  Mr. 

M rose   to  introduce  my  name.     He  spoke  eloquently  on  the 

duties  of  the  Church.  "It  had  lambs  of  the  Good  Shepherd  to  feed 
as  well  as  sheep,  and  Christ  had  said:  'Suffer  the  children  to  come 
unto  me,  and  forbid  them  not.'  Here  is  a  child,  comparatively  speak- 
ing, a  lamb  of  Christ  seeking  admittance  to  the  fold,  in  His  own  ap- 
pointed way,  and  who  has  kept  her  out?  Who  forbids  water  that  she 
may  not  be  baptized?  I  do  not,  and  I  sincerely  recommend  her  to 
the  church." 

The  vote  was  taken — I  was  at  last  received.  I  could  hardly  sit  still 
for  joy.  My  heart  was  filled  with  love  for  the  dear  old  man  who  had 
so  kindly  undertaken  to  speak  for  me,  and  prepare  the  way  for  my  en- 
trance into  Christ's  fold.  Christ  is  the  door  of  entrance,  but  the  under- 
shepherds  stood  before  the  open  door  long  and  obstructed  the  way. 
Now  the  obstacles  were  removed.  ^I  was  asked  to  rise,  and  my 
friends  were  next  called  upon  to  prepare  me  for  the  rite.  I  rose 
and  came  out  to  the  aisle  alone.  Not  one  friend,  not  one  acquaintance 
had  I  in  that  congregation;  but  I  was  happy,  though  not  one  in  that 
crowd  of  human  beings  rose  to  take  me  to  the  vestry  to  don  the  bap- 
tismal robes.  I  was  the  observed  of  all  observers.  Christ  by  my  side 
alone  gave  me  courage  to  stand  there  and  be  gazed  at.  At  last  the 
woman  who  cleaned  the  chapel  came  and  asked  me  if  I  had  no  one 
with  me.  I  said  I  had  no  one,  I  knew  no  one,  and  I  did  not  know 
where  to  go. 

"Come  with  me,"  said  the  woman,  and  she  took  me  down  stairs  to 
the  vestry-room,  and  helped  me  to  doff  my  own  and  don  the  baptismal 
robe.  And  no  robe,  however  elegant,  or  rich,  that  I  ever  put  on,  de- 
lighted me  so  much  as  this  one  did.  No  indelicacy,  no  impropriety 
was  thought  of;  no  dislike  to  the  "ducking,"  as  I  had  irreverently 
called  the  sacred  ordinance.  I  now  considered  it  a  high  and  holy 
privilege  to  be  immersed  in  the  name  of  Christ.     It  was  grace  that 


MY  CHILDHOOD  AND  CHILDHOOD  S  HOME.  43 

made  all  the  difference  between  my  former  and  my  present  self.  Mem- 
ory carries  me  back,  after  the  lapse  of  many  years,  and  I  think  I  see 
myself  coming  up  the  stair  without  any  attendant,  walking  into  the 
church  before  all  eyes  and  up  into  the  baptistry,  utterly  oblivious  of 
everything  on  earth.  My  whole  being  was  filled  with  the  idea  that 
I  was  Christ's  sister  and  He  my  Brother.  I  was  owning  Him  before 
men,  and  He  would  own  me  before  His  Father.  I  clasped  my  hands 
together,  looked  up  and  gave  myself  to  Him — it  was  all  I  had.  I  was 
rich — I  possessed  Him.  Though,  to  the  people  of  this  church,  I  was 
an  unknown  orphan,  I  had  given  up  all  for  Him,  and  I  was  happy  in 
the  possession.  Whom  have  I  in  heaven  but  Thee,  and  there  is  none 
on  earth  I  love  as  well.  After  I  was  baptized  and  went  down  stairs  to 
dress,  the  woman  asked  why  I  laughed  and  cried  and  talked  so.  I 
told  her  I  was  so  happy,  and  asked  her  if  every  one  who  was  baptized 
was  not  just  as  happy  as  I  was,  when  they  had  found  Christ. 

"I  suppose  they  are,"  she  said. 

I  could  hardly  get  quieted  before  I  went  up  stairs  to  receive  the  right 
hand  of  fellowship  and  partake  of  the  Lord's  Supper  for  the  first  time. 
I  received  many  a  warm  shake  of  the  hand,  and  a  whispered  ' '  God 
bless  you,  dear."  I  felt  that  I  had  found  many  new  relations  here.  I 
was  once  more  of  a  family — a  happy,  holy  family — who  would  teach 
me  the  way  more  perfecdy;  and,  if  Jesus  led,  I  was  willing  to  pass 
through  flood  and  flame. 

•'Onward,  for  the  truths  of  God!     Onward,  for  the  right! 
Firmly  let  the  field  be  trod.     In  life's  coming  fight 
Heaven's  own  hand  will  lead  thee  on;  guard  thee  till  thy  work  is  done." 

When  the  bread  was  broken  and  handed  to  me,  as  emblematic  of 
Christ's  broken  body;  when  the  wine  was  handed  to  me,  as  an  emblem 
of  His  shed  blood,  I  partook  and  felt  that  His  works,  His  pains.  His 
tears,  His  bonds.  His  wounds.  His  blood,  His  cross  and  cruel  death 
were  all  needed  to  save  me — and  could  I  ever  prove  ungrateful  to  Him 
or  be  ashamed  of  Him,  who  had  done  so  much  for  me?  His  love  for 
me  was  stronger  than  death,  mightier  than  the  grave.  He  sought  me, 
bought  me,  and  brought  me  to  His  table  to  partake  of  its  royal  cheer. 
Love  so  amazing  demands  my  whole  life,  and  I  dedicate  it  here  to  Thee ! 

When  I  look  back  to  the  time  in  which  I  suffered  such  hopeless  mis- 
ery and  discouragement  at  the  hands  of  ignorant  but  well-meaning 
men,  who  kept  me  back  from  obeying  the  Lord  because  I  did  not  un- 
derstand some  of  their  church  technicalities,  I  am  astonished.     How 


46  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

they  can  expect  or  demand  a  Christian  experience  from  one  who  has 
not  put  on  Christ,  is  a  mystery.  The  young  who  join  that  church  are 
children  of  the  members,  and  have  become  indoctrinated  and  know 
the  creed.  The  Bible  alone  was  my  creed,  and  I  was  happy  in  Christ, 
and  I  wished  to  bring  my  sister  to  him.  I  met  Barbara  accidentally  on 
the  street  one  day,  with  one  of  my  nice  dresses  on.  I  told  her  how 
happy  I  was,  and  wished  her  to  repent,  believe  in  Christ,  and  be  bap- 
tized, and  she  would  be  far  happier.  She  cried  and  said  she  did  not 
know  how  she  could  do  what  I  told  her.  I  told  her  if  she  would  meet 
me  sometimes  I  would  tell  her,  and  teach  her  out  of  my  Bible.  This 
she  would  not  consent  to.  I  thought  if  my  mother  knew  Christ  and 
loved  Him  she-  would  love  me,  too.  All  the  weeks  I  had  been  away 
from  her  did  not  seem  to  soften  her  feelings  toward  me.  I  had  not 
seen  her,  nor  did  she  wish  to  see  me  or  know  anything  about  me. 

"  How  can  a  mother's  tender  care  cease  toward  the  child  she  bare? 
Yet,  she  may  forgetful  be,  still  will  I  remember  thee." 

I  was  longing,  yearning,  homesick  to  see  my  mother.  I  was  living 
in  a  totally  different  sphere,  breathing  a  different  atmosphere  from  that 
she  lived  in.  Outwardly,  all  human  ties  seemed  to  be  severed  between 
us.  A  very  few  knew  the  circumstances  in  which  I  was  placed.  One 
old  lady  who  knew,  and  was  interested  in  me,  asked  me  one  day  if  I 
wished  to  go  back  to  the  flesh-pots  of  Egypt  ?  did  I  wish  to  turn  to  the 
world  again?  just  because  I  had  expressed  a  wish  to  see  my  mother. 

"Oh  no,  how  could  that  be?  But,"  I  said,  "I  wish  mother  was 
pious  and  good  and  loved  Christ." 

She  said :  ' '  You  can  do  your  mother  no  good,  and  she  may  do  you 
harm.  I  advise  you  not  to  see  your  mother  at  all.  You  must  take 
up  your  cross  daily  and  follow  Christ.  Have  you  counted  the  cost  of 
what  you  have  undertaken?" 

I  said  I  did  not  know,  but  I  thought  there  was  no  harm  in  wishing 
to  see  my  mother.  If  it  were  wrong  to  see  her,  I  could  not  help  lov- 
ing her  and  praying  for  her.  I  saw  on  the  street  one  day  a  cloak  like 
one  my  mother  wore,  and,  as  I  had  never  seen  one  like  it,  I  followed 
the  lady  to  see  if  I  knew  her.  I  came  quite  near  enough  to  see  that 
it  was  my  mother.  I  walked  as  near  to  her  as  I  could,  not  to  let  her 
see  me.  I  feared  that  she  would  not  speak  to  me,  and  I  dared  not  go 
to  her  and  speak  first.  I  felt  pleased  to  be  near  her.  She  turned  into 
the  street  that  she  lived  in.  I  watched  her  till  she  was  out  of  sight. 
I  turned  and  left  the  spot  with  a  choking  sensation  in  my  throat. 


MY  CHILDHOOD  AND  CHILDHOOD'S  HOME.  47 

"O  Father!  are  we  to  be  thus  separated  forever?"     I  felt  very  sad. 

On  leaving  my  mother's  home  I  took  no  clothes  with  me,  only  what 
I  wore  at  the  time.  Now  I  had  managed  to  get  another  change  of 
raiment,  and  I  was  well  off,  I  thought,  when  I  could  earn  money  to 
buy  my  own  clothes.  I  was  caught  in  a  heavy  rain  one  day — I  was 
drenched — and  while  I  was  changing  my  wet  for  my  dry  clothing,  I 
sat  down  and  thought  of  all  the  nice  clothing  I  had  left  behind.  I 
fancied  my  sister  in  my  beautiful  French  gray  silk,  and  many  others; 
and  all  the  pretty  things  I  owned — she  would  have  them  all.  I  looked 
at  my  poor  garments  and  felt  thankful  that  I  had  a  change.  I  felt 
that  my  heavenly  Brother  did  not  despise  me  on  account  of  my  dress. 
I  wondered  if  this  was  counting  the  cost. 

My  golden  hours  were  few  and  fleet.  I  was  called  upon  to  leave 
my  native  land,  without  a  friend  to  ask  counsel  of,  or  to  cheer  me  in 
my  decision.  My  pathway  was  strewn  with  new  difficulties.  I  knew 
not  what  to  do.  Every  trial  I  had  to  encounter  seemed  harder  than 
the  last;  but  my  Bible  said:    "As  thy  day  is,  so  shall  thy  strength  be." 

A  Mr.  and  Mrs.  H ,  members  of  the  church,  had  taken  quite  an 

interest  in  me.  They  had  purchased  land  in  the  far-off  country  of 
New  South  Wales,  and  Avere  about  to  leave  Scotland  for  what  was  to 
be  their  distant  home.     They  asked  me  to  go  with  them. 

"Yes,  I  shall  go,"  I  said. 

I  had  no  one  to  consult.  When  I  said  yes  so  readily,  I  certainly  had 
no  thought  for  the  morrow,  what  I  should  eat  or  put  on.  I  just  al- 
lowed God  to  direct  my  way,  and  I  was  willing  to  follow.  I  had  but 
a  short  time  to  prepare,  and  I  did  not  know  how  to  go  about  it.  I  had 
not  seen  my  father's  relations  since  I  refused  to  go  and  live  with  them. 
They  had  said  they  would  take  no  further  notice  of  me,  and  I  never 
troubled  them  with  my  presence.  I  felt  it  due  to  them  to  tell  them 
that  I  was  going  to  leave  Scotland  for  a  foreign  land.  They  asked 
some  questions.  Why  I  was  going?  With  whom  was  I  going?  The 
why  1  was  going  was  because  my  relations  did  not  like  me.  I  had  be- 
come religious,  and  I  was  turned  out  of  my  mother's  house,  and  I  had 
no  home  among  my  own  people,  nor  anyone  to  care  for  me,  and  I 
was  going  to  trust  God  and  leave  my  country,  and  seek  a  home  among 
strangers;  perhaps  they  would  be  kind  to  me.  They  wore  amazed 
at  what  they  called  my  temerity  on  account  of  my  youth.  I  told  them 
I  should  be  well  protected;  I  had  no  fear.  They  made  me  a  handsome 
present  in  money,  to  furnish  me  with  a  suitable  outfit,  if  I  would  go. 
I  had  no  fear  now  of  giving  offence  to  my  Baptist  friends  by  going  to 


48  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

see  my  mother,  and  I  intended  to  go;  and,  if  my  mother  would  not 
receive  me,  I  should  bid  her  farewell. 

I  saw  my  mother;  she  asked  me  what  I  wanted.  I  told  her  that  I 
wanted  her  forgiveness.  If  ever  I  had  given  her  offense,  I  did  not 
wish  to  do  so.  I  knew  I  had  disobeyed  her,  but  I  could  not  in  that 
one  instance  obey  her.  I  hoped  she  would  forgive  me.  Her  brow 
clouded;   but  before  the  storm  burst,  I  said: 

"Mother,  forgive  me,  and  I  shall  leave  you  forever,  if  you  dislike 
me.     I  have  promised  to  go  to  New  South  Wales  with  Mr.  and  Mrs. 

H and  their  family.     We  shall  go  soon,  and  all  I  now  ask  from 

you  is  forgiveness." 

"I  do  not  believe  in  the  religion  that  teaches  children  to  disobey 
their  parents,"  she  said. 

''Dear  mother,  my  religion  does  not  teach  me  to  disobey  you,  if  you 
tell  me  to  do  what  is  right.  You  wished  me  to  do  what  was  not  right, 
and  I  must  obey  God  rather  than  anybody  else." 

She  became  impatient  with  me.  I  told  her  how  much  I  loved  her, 
how  I  always  had  loved  her;  but  she  had  always  thrown  my  warm, 
gushing  love  to  the  winds.  I  had  tried  to  please  her  all  my  days,  had 
always  obeyed  her,  right  or  wrong,  until  I  began  to  know  right  from 
wrong,  and  now  my  religion  is  all  my  fault.  And  now,  that  I  was 
going  to  a  foreign  land,  I  hoped  she  would  not  let  me  go  without  her 
forgiveness.  I  went  near  her  to  kiss  her.  She  thrust  me  from  her, 
and  shut  me  out  of  her  heart  as  if  I  had  no  right  there. 

"Mother,  dearest  mother,  I  am  going  far,  far  away,  do  be  recon- 
ciled to  me  before  I  leave  you.  It  may  be  forever;  I  may  be  drowned 
at  sea,  and  you  will,  perhaps,  be  sorry  then  that  you  did  not  love  me, 
and  forgive  me  for  trying  to  serve  God,  who  has  done  so  much  for  me. 
When  I  am  dead,  perhaps  you  will  realize  how  much  I  loved  you,  and 
how  much  I  wanted  your  love." 

"You  are  talking  nonsense,"  was  her  reply. 

Great  God,  be  ever  near  me  to  protect  me;  hear  my  weeping 
prayer !  Dear  Father,  let  me  come  near  to  thee,  for  the  gulf  is  wide 
between  me  and  my  kindred,  whom  I  loved  so  well. 


CHAPTER  II. 

FAREWELL  TO   SCOTLAND. 


All  my  preparations  were  made,  trunks  packed,  and  I  was  ready  for 
the  long  voyage  to  the  antipodes,  with  a  sad  heart,  but  a  brave  spirit. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Holmes  and  I  had  a  public  leave  taking  with  the  church, 
and  I  had  the  most  affectionate  farewell  spoken  to  me  by  all.  Letters  of 
introduction  and  commendation  were  kindly  given  to  me,  and  as  we 
three  stood  up  to  take  the  parting  hand,  tears  and  kisses  and  blessings 
were  showered  upon  me.  We  took  a  steamer  to  Greenock,  where  the 
ship  lay  ready  to  sail  in  a  few  hours.  My  mother  accompanied  me  to 
Greenock.  She  did  not  speak  to  me  all  the  way.  We  went  to  a 
hotel,  to  wait  for  the  signal  of  departure.  As  my  mother  did  not  speak 
to  me,  my  heart  was  too  full  to  give  utterance  to  my  feelings  before  so 
many  people  on  the  boat;  but  as  soon  as  we  entered  a  room  and  the 
door  was  closed,  I  said: 

"O  mother,  my  heart  will  break  if  you  do  not  bless  me,  and  forgive 
me  before  I  go.    If  you  do  not  love  me,  at  least  kiss  me  once,  mother." 

I  knelt  at  her  feet.  I  threw  my  arms  around  her  neck,  and  kissed 
her  cheek.     She  pushed  me  from  her  with  an  angry  gesture,  and  said : 

"That  was  a  Judas'  kiss." 

Mv  heart  sank  within  me,  and  I  wept  sore,  and  could  not  be  com- 
forted. My  idolized  mother  had  no  place  in  her  affections  for  me,  no 
pity  for  me.  I  was  thrown  out  of  what  ought  to  have  been  a  sheltering 
place,  upon  the  perilous  billows  of  an  untried  life.  The  wide  world 
lay  before  me,  and  I  went  out  to  encounter  its  dangers  alone.  Father 
of  the  fatherless,  protect  me  now.  I  shall  try  not  to  feel  alone,  for 
thou  hast  said,  *'When  father  and  mother  forsake  thee,  I  will  take  thee 
up."  And  again,  "I  will  never  leave  thee,  nor  forsake  thee."  It  was 
well  for  me  that  those  precious  promises  crossed  my  thoughts  at  that 
time,  when  the  tidal  wave  of  sorrow  swept  over  my  defenseless  head. 

"One  more  word,  mother;  and  then,  farewell.     Forgive  me  for  ask- 
ing you  for  what  you  can  not  give,  and  now,  farewell;"  and  with  a 
bowed  spirit,   I   went  on  board  the  good  ship   Portland.      O,  who 
can  imagine  the  agony  of  that  moment!     Farewell,  mother,  I  have 
4  (49) 


CO  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

been  a  sad  and  lonely  child  all  through  my  childhood's  years;  now  I 
am  in  my  teens,  and  were  it  not  for  the  gracious  promises  of  my  heav- 
enly friend  never  to  leave  or  forsake  me,  I  should  be  utterly  prostrated 
by  my  misery  and  grief. 

"Jesus,  I  my  cross  have  taken, 

All  to  leave  and  follow  thee ; 
I  am  poor,  despised,  forsaken. 

Thou  henceforth  my  all  shall  be. 
Perish  every  fond  ambition. 

All  I've  sought,  or  hoped,  or  known ; 
Yet  how  rich  is  my  condition, 

God  and  heaven  are  still  my  own. 
Go  then,  earthly  fame  and  treasure, 

Come  disaster,  scorn  and  pain; 
In  thy  service  pain  is  pleasure, 

With  thy  favor  loss  is  gain. 
Storms  may  howl  and  clouds  may  gather, 

All  will  work  for  good  to  me." 

Our  ship  was  towed  out  to  the  tail  of  the  bank.  As  we  left  the  quay, 
I  saw  my  mother  standing  conspicuous  among  the  crowd;  her  beauti- 
ful fawn-colored  suit  glistened  in  the  sun,  and  she  stood  amid  the  dark 
forms  of  the  other  spectators  like  a  pillar  of  hght.  I  think  I  see  her 
now.  Such  a  leave-taking  on  board  the  ship;  friends  parting  with 
friends,  doubting  whether  they  should  ever  meet  again,  weeping,  ring- 
ing of  hands,  and  some,  in  the  excess  of  grief,  tearing  their  hair.  My 
tears  were  held  back  as  long  as  I  could  see  that  pillar  of  light  on  shore. 
I  stood  looking  over  the  taffrail  until  the  light  figure  became  a  speck, 
and  then  vanished.  A  long,  last  look,  and  again,  farewell, %iy  mother. 
The  cords  that  bound  our  noble  ship  to  shore  had  been  loosened,  and 
she  was  about  to  try  her  strength  on  the  bounding  billows  of  the 
ocean.  She  had  rudder  and  compass  to  guide  her  over  the  pathless 
deep,  and  experienced  officers  and  men  to  man  her.  I  felt  that  the 
cords  that  bound  me  to  family  and  home  were  loosened,  and  I,  like 
the  ship,  was  about  to  try  my  strength  in  unknown  regions.  Strength! 
did  I  say?  I  had  none,  but  the  Lord  could  make  perfect  his  strength 
in  my  weakness,  and  I  prayed  that  he  would.  His  word  was  my 
rudder  and  compass,  to  guide  me  through  the  storms  of  life.  Night 
gathered  her  ebon  mantle  over  ship  and  shore.  The  steamer  had 
taken  all  the  people  ashore,  who  were  not  bound  on  the  long  voyage. 
But  there  I  stood  looking  over  the  taffrail,  where  I  stood  for  hours, 
straining  my  eyes  in  peering  through  the  darkness,  if,  perchance,  I 


FAREWELL  TO  SCOTLAND,  5  I 

might  catch  one  more  glimpse  of  that  dear  form ;  but  all  was  shrouded 
in  night. 

I  retired  early,  but  I  could  not  avoid  contrasting  the  noisy  mirth  of 
some  of  our  passengers,  with  their  equally  noisy  grief,  when  goodbyes 
were  being  spoken  a  few  hours  before.  At  early  dawn  we  were  gently 
gliding  down  the  Firth  with  a  fair  wind,  and  we  passed  the  Cumbrays, 
the  Isles  of  Bute  and  Arran,  and  the  Aisla  Crag,  whose  irregular  rocks, 
over  which  the  sea  breaks  with  such  fury,  had  nearly  proved  fatal  to  the 
steamer/7>/^<z/on  our  voyage  to  the  Emerald  Isle.  But  now,  as  we  passed, 
they  were  flooded  with  sunshine  and  dressed  in  holiday  attire.  Sea- 
weed and  shells  festooned  the  projecting  cliffs,  and  studded  the  beach 
below.  On  went  our  ship  with  easy  grace.  She  was  large,  and  con- 
veniently fitted  up  for  passengers,  of  whom  she  carried  a  goodly  number. 
A  human  dwelling,  with  all  the  appurtenances  of  a  home,  constructed 
to  float  on  the  surface  of  the  water,  is  a  great  contrivance,  and  one  of 
the  wonders  of  the  ocean.  The  sweet  singer  of  Israel  says,  "Those 
who  go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships  see  the  wonders  of  the  deep,"  and 
our  ship  was  a  great  wonder  to  me.  It  was  fitted  up  to  carry  three 
hundred  persons,  and  many  whole  families  were  amongst  them.  How 
all  these  were  to  live  together  in  one  house  for  four  months  was  a  puz- 
zle. The  weather  was  delightful,  and  everybody  was  busy,  passengers 
and  crew,  putting  things  in  ship-shape. 

As  I  had  nothing  to  do,  I  took  a  seat  on  the  top  of  a  pile  of  spars, 
that  were  firmly  lashed  to  the  starboard  side  of  the  ship.  They  formed 
steps  up  to  the  top  of  the  bulwark.  Up  these  I  climbed  and  took  a  seat, 
which  I  occupied  every  day  that  I  was  able  to  be  on  deck  all  through 
our  long  passage;  and  looking  over  the  ship's  side,  I  learned  many  a 
lesson.  I  was  greatly  interested  in  studying  the  creatures  living  in  the 
sea.  A  great  number  of  Medusae  were  shining  through  the  water. 
These  are  star-shaped,  of  various  sizes  and  beautiful  forms,  with  tenta- 
cles streaming  downward,  as  the  animals  floated  in  the  water. 

I  had  heard  of  flying  fishes;  for  I  had  cousins  who  had  sailed  the 
seas,  and  had  seen  many  wonderful  things,  but  their  tales  seemed  to 
me  almost  too  wonderful  for  belief.  Our  second  day  out  a  shoal  of 
these  very  "fishes  that  flew"  sailed  across  our  deck,  and  several 
dropped  on  deck.  We  had  a  good  opportunity  to  examine  them,  which 
we  did  with  great  interest.  They  have  excessively  long  pectoral  fins, 
which  serve  them  as  wingsilnd  sustain  them  in  the  air  for  a  few  mo- 
ments. They  swim  in  shoals,  and  are  pursued  by  legions  of  voracious 
fishes,  bonita,  shajks,  and  other  kinds.     They  spring  into  the  air  tp 


5*  THE  Si'  •  ■       3F  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

escape  one  danger;  another,  not  less  imminent,  awaits  them — for  a 
host  of  sea  birds  are  on  the  lookout  for  them,  and  their  wings,  which 
only  serve  them  as  a  parachute,  soon  dry  and  they  drop  into  the  sea 
again. 

At  two  bells  we  all  went  to  dinner.  As  the  day  was  fine  and  the 
ship  floating  steadily,  we  had  soup.     I  took  one  or  two  spoonfuls  when 

I  had  to  leave  the  table.     I  became  deathly  sick.     Mrs.  H said  I 

was  sea-sick.  Be  that  as  it  may — I  was  sea-water-sick,  certainly.  Our 
head  cook  had  several  very  inexperienced  mates.  One  of  these  knoAv- 
nothings  was  asked  to  fill  a  boiler  with  water  to  make  soup,  and  he 
did  so,  but  it  was  sea-water  with  which  he  did  it.  He  was  economical; 
he  saved  the  ship's  salt  at  the  expense  of  several  being  laid  up  sick. 
He  lost  his  position  through  his  carelessness.  I  was  very  sea-sick  for 
several  days. 

We  had  fair  winds  and  fine  weather  till  we  reached  the  Bay  of  Biscay, 
when  our  ship  began  to  tumble  about  at  a  fearful  rate,  to  the  great  con- 
sternation of  all  those  who  had  never  been  on  board  of  a  ship  before. 
I  felt  that  I  was  quite  an  experienced  sailor.  I  not  only  had  no  fear, 
but  I  apprehended  no  danger.  -I  had  been  on  board  of  the  Fingal  in  the 
great  gale,  and  was  not  a  little  pleased  with  my  experience.  One 
night  one  of  our  stud  sail-booms  cracked  and  split,  and  the  sail  flapped 
and  made  a  great  noise.  Such  a  cry  arose  from  the  timid  ones  as 
brought  the  captain  and  some  of  the  officers  down  to  see  what  was  the 
matter,  when,  with  one  voice,  they  cried: 

"Oh,  captain!  are  we  going  down?" 

"Down  where?"  asked  he. 

"To  the  bottom!  "  said  the  frightened  ones. 

"Oh,  no!"  said  the  good-natured  captain;  "not  yet.  But  I  would 
advise  you  not  to  bring  me  down  to  tell  you  that  you  are  not  going 
down." 

We  tumbled  through  the  bay  without  any  serious  damage;  but  all 
those  who  had  not  their  "sea  legs"  on,  as  the  sailors  express  it,  had 
many  a  tumble  on  the  deck;  and  it  was  ludicrous  ,in  the  extreme  to  see 
a  man  of  great  dignity  walking  with  stately  steps  and  slow,  all  at  once 
take  to  running  hither  and  thither,  trying  to  catch  at  something,  missing 
it  just  as  he  was  laying  hold  of  it;  falling  away,  as  if  trying  to  catch 
something  in  the  opposite  direction,  missing  it,  reeling  and  staggering 
like  a  drunken  man.  • 

The  stormy  Petrel,  or  "Mother  Carey's  Chickens,"  as  the  sailors 
call  these  interesting  little  birds,  flew  around  and  followed  our  ship  in 


FAREWELL  TO  SCOTLAND.  53 

great  numbers.  They  sweep  along  the  trough  of  the  sea  as  if  in  a 
sheltered  valley,  and  then  mount  again  on  the  rising  billow.  Of  all 
the  palmipedes,  these  remain  most  constantly  at  a  distance  from  land. 
They  are  nocturnal  birds,  and  when  they  are  seen  in  the  daytime,  seek- 
ing food  or  shelter  near  a  ship,  or  in  the  shrouds,  they  are  forced  so  to 
do  by  tempestuous  weather;  and  on  this  account  they  are  called  storm 
birds.  The  name  Petrel  (little  Peter)  is  given  to  them,  it  is  said,  from 
their  walking  on  the  water  by  the  help  of  their  wings,  which  reminds 
us  of  the  Apostle  Peter  walking  on  the  Sea  of  Tiberias.  Their  wings 
are  sharp  and  slender,  and  their  pectoral  muscles  strong,  which  enables 
them  to  keep  on  the  wing  a  long  time.  Gulls  we  saw  in  great  num- 
bers. They  are  about  the  size  of  a  duck,  with  long  wings  and  webbed 
feet.  We  saw  great  shoals  of  porpoises  tumbling  about,  and  leaping 
out  of  the  water  a  considerable  height,  though  they  were  big  and 
clumsy  looking.  Their  name,  which  means  hog-fish,  has  been  given 
them  on  account  of  the  quantity  of  fat  found  beneath  the  skin.  They 
are  never  more  than  four  or  five  feet  long.  One  of  these  sea-hogs  was 
caught,  the  flesh  prepared,  and  I  ate  some.  It  was  very  coarse-grained, 
had  a  fishy  taste,  but  not  unpleasant.  Its  skeleton  was  very  much  like 
a  land  animal's. 

We  passed  the  Madeiras,  that  lovely  group  of  islands  celebrated  for 
their  wines.  They  belong  to  the  Portuguese,  and  consist  of  Port 
Santo,  Madeira,  and  three  uninhabited  islands  called  Deserta.  We 
passed  so  close  to  Madeira  that  we  saw  houses  and  people.  We  were 
delighted,  for  we  had  not  seen  land  for  some  time.  I  have  heard  peo- 
ple say  that  "a  sea  voyage  is  so  monotonous."  I  did  not  find  it  so. 
After  we  lost  sight  of  land,  everything  that  I  saw — above  and  below 
and  round  about — was  new,  strange  and  wonderful.  I  thought  I  had 
some  knowledge  of  the  sea  because  I  had  been  out  in  a  great  gale  in 
the  Firth  of  Clyde,  and  had  crossed  the  Irish  Sea;  but,  when  I  had 
bidden  my  native  land  good-night,  and  she  had  vanished  from  my  sight 
in  the  distance;  when  I  was  out  on  the  boundless  deep,  where  the 
water  was  dark,  nearly  to  blackness;  nothing  but  the  mighty  moving 
element,  through  which  our  ship  was  cleaving  her  way,  around  me; 
while  over  me  was  the  equally  beautiful  vault  of  heaven  spanning  the 
ocean  on  every  side,  I  felt  lost  in  the  vastness  of  the  scene  and  ac- 
knowledged to  myself  that  I  was  a  poor,  little,  ignorant  creature — too 
insignificant  for  God  to  notice.  But  then  I  thought  of  the  sparrows 
and  the  ravens,  and  took  comfort.  I  was  of  more  value  than  many 
sparrows.     It  was  delightful  on  a  calm,  still  day  to  sit  on  the  spars  and 


54  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

peer  over  the  side  of  the  ship  and  down  into  the  depths  of  the  sea, 
and  feel  myself  rocked  upon  the  great  waves  and  floating  over  the 
dark,  blue  sea.  What  a  contrast  to  the  howling  storm  when  the  winds 
are  drawn  up  in  battle  array,  and  one  can  not  distinguish  the  thunder 
of  the  clouds  from  the  roar  of  the  winds,  or  the  sullen  plunging  of  the 
angry  waves  on  the  rocky  coast!  I  shuddered  as  I  thought  of  the 
JFingal.  I  hoped  we  would  not  encounter  the  elements  in  their  anger 
on  our  voyage. 

The  Bible  represents  the  winds  as  a  vehicle  of  Divine  power  in  judg- 
ment and  in  blessing.  God  rides  on  the  wings  of  the  wind.  The 
wind  on  the  Sea  of  Galilee  is  associated  with  the  presence  of  our 
Savior,  who  said  to  it:  "  Peace,  be  still!  "  The  winds  are  God's  mes- 
sengers to  carry  the  blessings  of  Christianity  around  the  world. 

When  the  main,  the  maintop,  the  fore,  the  foretop,  the  mizzen  and 
mizzentop  sails,  with  studding  sails,  are  all  set  and  filled  with  the  elas- 
tic wind,  how  swiftly  does  the  ship  move  on  from  country  to  country 
without  exhausting  its  power.  And  a  ship  in  full  sail  is  a  thing  of 
beauty !  She  seems  imbued  with  life  as  she  bounds  along  on  her  wat- 
ery way.  I  can  appreciate  David's  exclamation  of  admiration :  "There 
go  the  ships! " 

We  had  a  little  rough  weather  after  we  passed  Madeira.  I  thought 
we  were  going  to  be  turned  upside  down  once  or  twice,  and  it  was  so 
amusing  to  see  everything  jumping  about.  When  we  sat  down  to  eat, 
a  plate  of  soup,  without  ceremony,  would  throw  itself  into  one's  lap; 
and,  while  another  was  laughing  at  the  frolic  the  plate  of  soup  was 
having,  a  decanter  of  water  would  tumble  over  on  him ;  another  laughs, 
and  the  plates  go  dancing  over  to  his  side.  Soup,  water,  meat,  vege- 
tables, dishes,  plates,  knives,  forks,  and  spoons  would  have  a  regular 
waltzing  frolic;  and  all  who  sat  around  had  to  rise  and  run,  and  invol- 
untarily join  in  the  dance. 

I  was  not  long  out  at  sea  till  I  made  a  very  pleasant  discovery.  A  mid- 
shipman, young,  handsome,  and  the  son  of  a  rich  shipowner  of  Green- 
ock, was  on  board  the  Portland.  His  father  wished  to'  make  one  of 
his  sons  a  sailor;  so  Tom  Arbuckle  was  learning  his  business,  and  he 
was  my  cousin — a  cousin  I  had  never  seen  or  known.  As  I  have  said, 
when  my  father  died  his  family  and  my  mother  had  a  breach  that  was 
never  healed.  I  was  very  young  when  I  lost  my  father;  consequently 
I  had  heard  but  little  of  my  father's  relatives.  My  uncle,  Ar- 
buckle, I  never  knew,  nor  any  of  the  family.  Only  by  accident  I 
met  my  cousin  Tom,  and  we  became  very  friendly.     When  he  wa^ 


FAREWELL  TO  SCOTLAND.  55 

off  duty,  and  had  time  to  spare,  and  I  was  perched  on  my  usual  seat 
on  the  spars,  Tom  was  at  my  side.  He  asked  me  one  day  if  I  were 
not  lonesome,  as  he  always  saw  me  by  myself  on  the  same  seat. 

"Oh,  no!"  I  said;  "I  can  not  be  lonesome  with  so  much  beauty 
in  the  sea,  and  so  much  variety  in  the  ship." 

"There  is  beauty  in  the  deep. 
The  wave  is  bluer  than  the  sky; 
And,  though  the  light  shines  bright  on  high. 
How  softly  do  the  sea  gems  glow, 
That  sparkle  in  the  depths  below. 
There  is  beauty  in  the  deep." 

The  sea  gems  sparkled  as  brightly  as  did  the  sky  gems,  and  were  as 
interesting  to  me.  The  sea  sparks  were  phosphorescent  lights.  One 
of  the  ship  officers,  an  old  tar,  and  a  great  friend  of  Tom's,  also  be- 
came a  friend  of  mine,  and  between  the  two  my  time  passed  very 
pleasantly  and  profitably.  One  or  the  other  of  these  two  were  with 
me  when  I  was  on  my  perch,  and  from  them  I  learned  all  sorts  of  nau- 
tical lore.  They  were  interesting  companions.  I  was  thirsting  for 
knowledge,  and  they  had  stores  of  which  I  knew  nothing,  and  they 
were  pleased  to  communicate  to  me  of  their  abundance. 

Several  young  ladies  took  seats  one  day  on  the  spars  beside  me.    Mr. 

G ,  the  old  tar,  was  near,  and  we  were  all  chatting  away  right 

merrily.     Mr.  G lifted  a  great  monkey  jacket  in  his  hand,  and, 

before  I  could  think  what  it  was  for,  he  threw  it  over  my  head  and  shoul- 
ders, causing  me  to  bend  forward.  I  was  angry  as  a  Turk.  What  did 
the  old  man  mean?  I  asked,  mentally;  but,  before  I  could  give  vent 
to  my  indignation,  it  gave  place  to  gleeful  gratitude.  When  the  jacket 
was  lifted  off  my  head,  I  saw  the  young  ladies  on  the  deck  shaking 
themselves.  They  were  drenched  to  the  skin,  and  the  deck  was  cov- 
ered with  water.     I  felt  inclined  to  laugh  at  the  ludicrous  scene.     Mr. 

G had  seen  a  great  crested  wave  rolling  toward  the  ship,  and  knew 

it  would  sweep  over  the  decks,  and  we  were  right  in  its  way,  and,  as 
he  could  only  protect  one  from  a  ducking,  I  was  that  thankless  one. 
After  this  I  was  called  "Neptune's  favorite."  I  accepted  the  distinc- 
tion. I  had  dubbed  the  old  man  Neptune;  he  seemed  to  know  so 
much  of  the  sea. 

I  had  heard  that  a  sunset  and  sunrise  at  sea  were  glorious  sights.  I 
was  not  impressed  with  the  glory  the  first  time  I  saw  either.  The  sun, 
on  his  westward  course,  looked  like  a  great  fiery  globe,  dropping  into 
a  great  bowl  of  water  to  quench  his  fire.     I  looked  for  the  beauty  of 


56  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

fhe  rising  sun,  and  was  only  impressed  with  the  magnitude  and  vast- 
ness  of  his  majesty's  reahii  of  waste  waters,  over  which  he  traveled 
daily.  iJut  the  scene,  to  be  beautiful,  must  have  the  accessories  of 
meandering  brooks  and  fertile  plains,  with  the  accompaniment  of  lux- 
uriant foliage  and  sky-piercing  mountains  crowned  with  snow;  all 
tiiese,  reflecting  the  various  tints  of  the  sun's  rays,  make  a  sunrise  or 
sunset  on  land  far  more  beautiful  than  at  sea. 

We  had  a  sick  lady  in  the  hospital  (we  had  such  an  institution  on 
board,  for  we  had  a  large  family).  I  went  to  see  her  one  morning  be- 
fore I  went  on  deck.  The  hatchway  of  the  lazaret  had  been  left  open 
by  the  careless  steward's  mate,  and  the  place  was  so  dark  that  I  could 
not  see;  so  I  fell  prone  across  the  open  hole,  doubled  up,  and  then 
fell  several  feet  down  among  barrels  and  boxes,  and  was  bruised  all 
over  on  the  edges  of  the  iron-hooped  barrels.  I  scrambled  up  and  out, 
I  know  not  how,  but  when  I  saw  the  lady  I  went  to  see,  I  could  not 
speak  to  her.  I  had  no  bones  broken,  but  the  doctor  advised  me 
to  go  to  the  hospital.  I  was  very  ill  from  my  bruises.  The  hos- 
pital was  very  comfortably  fitted  up  for  the  sick,  we  had  profes- 
sional nurses,  and  the  doctor  was  a  skilled  physician.  He  said, 
when  I  had  been  in  bed  a  few  days,  that  I  was  dangerously  ill; 
I  must  be  put  into  a  hot  bath  and  bled.  He  also  said  it  was  life  or 
death  with  me,  or  he  would  not  use  the  lancet  on  silch  a  rough  night; 
the  ship  was  rolling  so  heavily.  I  said  I  would  hold  the  bowL  into 
which  the  blood  was  to  flow.  A  lance  cut  a  vein  in  my  arm  for  the 
first  time.  The  doctor  was  afraid  he  might  cut  an  artery.  I  bled  until  I 
grew  blind.  The  nurse  was  at  hand,  took  the  bowl  from  me,  and  I  fell 
senseless  on  the  floor.  The  doctor  used  restoratives,  and  I  heard  him 
tell  the  nurse  to  feel  my  feet.  She  did  so,  and  said  in  solemn  tone, 
they  are  getting  cold.  That  was  all  I  knew  for  twelve  days.  When  I 
became  conscious,  I  asked  where  I  was,  and  if  it  were  morning.  I 
had  no  idea  of  the  lapse  of  time.     I  asked  the  nurse  why  I  was  in  bed 

in  the  hospital.     Mrs.  H came  to  see  me,  and  told  me  I  was  ill, 

and  how  long  I  had  lain  there  unconscious,  no  one  expecting  me  to 
live.     I  said  I  knew  nothing  about  it.     I  thought  I  was  well  now'  but 

I  could  not  walk  after  Mrs.  H and  the  nurse  had  dressed  me.     I 

fainted,  and  fell  back  on  the  bed.  The  doctor  soon  restored  me,  and 
gave  me  something  in  a  spoon.  I  asked  what  it  was.  He  said,  take 
it  you  foolish  girl,  it  is  a  little  brandy.  I  pushed  his  hand  away,  but 
he  caught  both  my  hands,  and  then  made  me  swallow  it,  and  then  he 
gave  me  a  little  rice  and  sugar  in  a  spoon,  and  in  an  hour  after  a  little 


FAREWELL  TO  SCOTLAND.  57 

more  rice  and  sugar,  and  so  on,  till  I  could  stand  and  walk,  to  my 
own  and  the  doctor's  astonishment.  I  felt  well  again,  and  asked  the 
doctor  if  I  might  not  leave  the  hospital. 

"You  may  be  helped  upon  the  deck  to-morrow  if  the  weather  is  fine." 
I  was  on  deck  as  soon  as  I  could  get  up  next  morning,  and  stayed 
as  long  as  I  had  permission  to  do  so.  I  went  below  and  to  bed  light- 
hearted,  and  slept.  A  litde  before  midnight  I  heard  a  cry:  "Oh,  will 
no  one  go  for  the  doctor,  my  child  is  dying!"  I  started  out  of  bed 
half  awake,  and  said,  "I  will  go!"  I  wrapped  a  mantle  around  me, 
and  went  upon  the  main  deck.  Not  knowing  where  the  doctor  was  to 
be  found,  I  looked  for  Mr.  Stalker,  the  officer  of  the  watch,  but  no 
where  could  I  find  him.  I  looked  alow  and  aloft,  but  not  a  living 
creature  was  to  be  seen.  Nobody  was  looking  after  the  ship;  she 
might  take  her  own  course,  if  she  chose,  and  carry  everybody  with  her. 
I  looked  up  to  the  moon,  pale  queen  of  night,  who  shone  wondrously 
bright,  and  the  blue  vault  of  heaven  was  studded  with  many  stars. 
The  ship  was  in  full  dress,  with  a  fair  wind,  and  her  white  sails,  filled 
with  favoring  breezes,  made  her  look  like  a  huge  bird,  with  wings  wide 
spread,  soaring  away  over  the  trackless  deep.  A  feeling  of  awe  crept 
over  me;  I  felt  as  if  I  were  alone  on  the  mighty  deep,  under  the  wings 
of  that  strange,  huge  bird,  being  carried  I  knew  not  whither.  The 
night  was  enchanting,  but  the  doctor  had  to  be  found.  I  went  near  to 
the  man  at  the  wheel,  but  did  not  speak  for  a  minute,  for  he  was  look- 
ing intendy  at  the  mast-head.  I  wondered  if  he,  too,  felt  as  if  under 
the  wings  of  the  strange  bird.  The  spell,  if  spell  there  was,  must  be 
broken.  I  spoke,  and  asked  where  was  the  officer  of  the  watch.  He 
could  not  tell.  I  did  not  know  what  to  do.  I  found  two  sailors  asleep 
under  a  boat,  who  ought  to  have  been  walking  the  deck  at  that  mid- 
night hour,  instead  of  lying  asleep  and  leaving  the  ship  to  the  care  of 
one  man,  with  hundreds  of  human  beings  all  fast  asleep  in  his  charge, 
and  he  not  able  to  leave  his  post  for  an  instant,  even  were  the  ship  on 
fire.  I  knew  where  the  captain's  room  was,  and  I  knocked  at  his  door 
as  loudly  as  I  could.  His  dog  began  to  bark,  and  soon  roused  all  the 
sleepers.  I  told  the  captain  that  the  doctor  was  wanted  to  come  to  a 
dying  child,  and  that  all  the  watch  were  asleep,  and  the  ship  was  going 
along  by  herself.  The  dog  had  roused  them  all  by  this  time.  The 
doctor  made  his  appearance,  laughing  at  the  speech  I  had  made  to  the 
captain,  and  the  stir  among  the  sleeping  watchmen.  The  child  got 
better,  and  next  morning  the  captain  took  his  first  officer  to  task  about 
his  neglect.    I  know  not  how  he  exonorated  himself,  but  the  first  oj>- 


58  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

portunity  that  Mr.  Stalker  liad,  he  stalked  up  to  me,  and  took  me  to 
task  for  arousing  the  captain  from  his  sleep.  I  told  him  I  did  less 
wrong  by  rousing  the  captain  from  his  sleep  to  look  after  the  ship,  than 
he  did  by  going  to  sleep  with  the  watch  and  neglecting  the  ship.  He 
was  very  angry  with  me,  but  I  told  him  I  would  just  do  the  same  thing 
again  under  the  same  circumstances,  and  he  need  not  be  angry  with 
me,  for  I  had  done  what  I  thought  to  be  my  duty. 

"Why  did  you  not  call  me?"  asked  the  irate  Stalker. 

I  asked  him  if  he  were  on  board;  if  so,  he  was  invisible.  I  could 
not  find  him.     He  began  to  laugh,  and  left  me. 

I  was  once  more  able  to  be  in  my  own  cabin,  and  take  my  accus- 
tomed seat  on  the  spars,  and  view,  with  fresh  admiration,  the  blue 
above  and  the  blue  below.  I  have  sailed  in  many  ships  since  I  sailed 
in  the  Portland,  forty  years  ago.  Larger,  grander,  more  magnificently 
fitted  up,  but  none  more  completely  comfortable.  The  passengers' 
cabins  were  all  between  decks,  and  the  families  were  all  on  the  best  of 
terms.  Most  of  them  were  married  men,  who  had  land  in  the  rich  and 
growing  country,  and  were  going  out  to  occupy  it,  and  work  in  their 
different  professions,  and  they  were  nearly  all  singularly  prosperous. 
Many  of  them  afterward  became  distinguished  as  members  of  Parlia- 
ment, and  immensely  wealthy.  They  were  a  highly  respectable  class 
of  passengers,  and  many  friendships  were  formed  on  board,  that  ended 
only  with  life.  The  discipline  of  the  ship  was  perfect.  Passengers 
and  crew  were  under  the  strictest  rules,  and  everything  worked  well, 
and  went  like  clock-work.  Our  sailors  were  all  sons  of  gentlemen. 
Such  a  crew  I  have  never  sailed  with  since,  nor  are  there  many  such. 
They  all  seemed  brothers  of  one  family,  each  handsomer  than  the 
other,  and  so  good-natured.  We  had  splendid  weather,  and  it  was  a 
pleasant  sight  to  see  our  handsome  tars  on  Saturday,  washing  their 
ducks — that  is,  their  fine  white  canvas  suits^ahd  making  a  general 
preparation  for  Sunday.  The  ship's  decks  were  nearly  as  white  as 
snow,  and  every  coil  of  rope  in  its  place.  Every  sign  of  work  was  put 
away,  such  as  sailmaking  and  mending,  and  splicing  ropes,  and  mak- 
ing basset.  The  ship  went  along  with  a  fair  wind,  and  needed  but 
little  looking  after.  On  Sunday  morning  the  ship-bell  tolled  seven,  and 
passengers  and  crew  assembled  on  deck  under  an  awning,  where  seats 
were  placed  athwart-ships,  and  the  doctor  behind  the  capstan,  which 
was  covered  with  the  Union  Jack,  and  used  as  a  reading-desk. 
The  Church  of  England  services  were  then  read  by  the  doctor, 
but  the  Psalms  were  sung  by  all,  and  what  fine  voices  there  were  in 


FAREWELL  TO  SCOTLAXD.  59 

that  crowd.  The  prayers  were  read,  and  after  the  services  were  over, 
all  passed  the  day  as  if  they  were  on  shore.  Some  groups  were 
reading  or  talking  on  Bible  subjects,  while  others  were  reading 
religious  books.  Our  gentlemen  sailors  were  dressed  in  their  white 
duck  trousers  and  jackets,  or  garibaldies,  and  had  jaunty  litde  caps  on 
their  heads.    Everything  was  spotlessly  clean  about  them  and  the  ship. 

Mr.  McK and  family  had  their  cabin  opposite  to  ISIr.  Holmes 

and  family.     Mrs.  McK had  left  Scotland  for  her  health,  but  the 

grim  king  had  marked  her  for  his  own,  and  she  sank  daily  after  she 
came  on  board,  till  she  dropped  into  his  relentless  embrace.  It  is  a 
solemn  thing  to  die  at  any  time,  or  in  any  place,  but  I  think  to  die  at 

sea  is  most  solemn.     Mrs.  McK died  in  the  midst  of  her  family, 

and  everything  that  affection  and  kindness  could  do  was  done,  to  show 
sympathy  for  the  living,  and  respect  for  the  dead.  After  the  body  was 
dressed  for  burial,  an  officer  of  the  ship  prepared  canvas,  wrapped  the 
body  in  it,  sewed  it  up,  and  then  sewed  a  bag  full  of  stones  to  the  foot 
of  the  shroud.  This  was  done  to  sink  the  body,  and  save  it  from  the 
voracious  jaws  of  sharks.  The  bell  tolled,  and  the  passengers  were  as- 
sembled on  the  quarter  deck  in  solemn  silence.  The  body  was  lashed  to 
a  plank,  and  covered  with  the  Union  Jack  for  a  pall.  The  ship's  officers 
were  the  pall-bearers.  They  carried  the  corpse  to  the  deck  tenderly, 
mournfully,  and  laid  it  on  a  rude  bier,  until  the  service  for  the  dead  was 
read  by  the  doctor.  He  paused  when  he  came  to  "ashes  to  ashes."  The 
pall-bearers  lifted  the  body,  and  rested  it  on  the  gangway.  The  doctor 
omitted  "ashes  to  ashes,"  and  said,  "we  commit  this  body  to  the  deep, 
till  the  sea  gives  up  its  dead."  The  plank  was  lowered  over  the  side 
of  the  ship,  a  plunge,  a  slight  gurgling  sound,  and  the  waters  gathered 
over  the  body. 

"And  there  she  lay  in  her  coarse,  cold  shroud. 

And  strangers  were  'round  her,  the  coffinless; 
Her  family  were  tiiere  among  that  crowd, 

Their  eyes  did  weep,  and  their  lips  did  bless. 
Not  a  whisper  did  ling-ir  upon  the  air ; 

O'er  her  body  one  moment  her  family  bent; 
But  the  plunging  sound  of  the  dead  was  there, 

And  the  ocean  is  now  her  monument." 

A  more  magnificent  one  than  the  hand  of  man  ever  fashioned,  but 
one  by  which  no  hand  of  affection  can  plant  a  flower.  The  bereaved 
ones  can  not  rest  their  thoughts  on  the  hallowed  spot  where  the  ashes 
of  the  loved  one  lies.    Her  sepulcher  is  large,  but  she  is  alone.     "The 


6o  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

average  depth  of  the  ocean  is  ascertained  to  be  five  miles.  If  we  sup- 
pose now,  which  may  not  be  far  from  the  truth,  that  such  a  weight 
would  descend  at  the  rate  of  one  mile  an  hour,  the  body  would  be  five 
hours  passing  to  its  final  place  of  rest.  What  a  march  to  the  grave 
is  this!  Five  hours  alone,  unattended,  unthought  of,  pressing  steadily 
on  away  from  all  light,  passing  without  a  pause  the  limit  where  the  last 
ray  of  the  sun  becomes  extinct,  and  where  the  last  trace  of  life  forever 
fails.  And  what  a  tomb  to  come  to  at  last;  what  silence ;  what  dark- 
ness; what  desolation;  what  eternal  and  motionless  rest.  At  such  a 
depth  it  would  seem  that  nothing,  absolutely  nothing,  could  transpire, 
and  a  human  body,  seeking  there  its  last  home,  must  find  one  so  en- 
tirely its  own,  that  probably  for  ages  to  come  there  will  have  been 
nothing  but  its  own  intrusion  to  disturb  the  death-like  repose." 

One  day  I  was  looking  over  the  ship's  side  from  my  usual  perch, 
when  I  saw  a  great  shoal  of  what  I  thought  were  the  most  beautiful 
fishes,  swimming  and  gamboling  a  few  feet  below  the  surface  of  the 
water.  Cousin  Tom  told  me  they  were  dolphins.  The  dolphins,  when 
at  play  on  a  bright  day,  as  I  saw  them,  are  so  rapid  in  their  move- 
ments, so  changing  in  their  color  as  the  sunbeams  fall  on  them,  that 
they  look  like  broken  rainbows  flying  about.  We  can  not  help  admir- 
ing the  beauty  of  their  form,  and  the  rapidity  with  which  they  swim. 
They  were  held  sacred  by  the  Greeks  in  ancient  times.  The  poetic 
Greeks  created  for  the  dolphin  an  assemblage  of  virtues  that  the  human 
family  is  far  from  possessing.  They  placed  its  image  in  their  temples, 
impressed  it  on  their  coins  and  medals,  and  made  it  a  symbol  of  the 
God  of  the  Sea.  It  is  from  eight  to  ten  feet  long,  and  is  found  in  every 
sea.  It  is  bluish-black  above,  and  white  below.  Its  jaws  are  a*:jned 
with  teeth.  These  animals  are  the  most  carnivorous,  and,  in  propor- 
tion to  their  size,  the  most  cruel  of  all  the  cetacea.  They  are  the  swift- 
est swimmers  of  all  the  finny  tribes. 

"Sail  ho!"  was  shouted  from  aloft  one  day.  What  excitement  that 
shout  created  on  board  our  ship.  A  ship  in  sight  was  a  new  wonder; 
it  was  the  first  ship  we  had  seen  since  we  left  land.  It  was  quite  an 
event  to  see,  outside  of  our  ship,  something  besides  the  denizens  of  the 
deep.  I  was  surprised  to  see  the  stranger  pitch,  and  toss,  and  roll, 
and  plunge,  in  so  quiet  a  sea.  She  would  pitch  her  stern  high  in  air, 
and  plunge  her  head  deep  into  the  water,  so  that  you  could  see  half 
of  the  copper  sheathing  of  her  keel.  Then  her  bows  would  rise  high 
in  air  like  Neptune's  locks,  dripping  with  brine.  Her  decks  were 
filled  with  passengers.     I  suppose  they,  like  ourselves,  were  brought 


FAREWELL  TO  SCOTLAND.  6l 

to  the  deck  by  the  cry  of  "Sail  ho!"  I  was  watching  the  stranger  very 
intently.  We  were  not  near  enough  to  hear  the  captain's  answer  to  our 
captain's  questions,  through  his  huge  speaking  trumpet: 

"From  whence?  whither  bound?  and  what's  your  cargo?" 

But  we  could  guess  she  had  a  live  cargo.  I  saw  her  give  a  sudden, 
fearful  plunge.     I  screamed  out : 

"Oh !  she  has  gone  down !  " 

Gur  captain  laufhed  at  my  fright.  I  had  hardly  the  words  out  of 
my  mouth  till  she  righted  again,  and  then  rolled  over  on  her  side,  ca- 
reering in  a  most  frolicsome  way.  The  captain  told  me  that  our  ship 
presented  the  same  appearance  to  them  that  theirs  did  to  us.  I  could 
not  realize  that  our  ship  was  behaving  so  badly,  but  I  had  become  ac- 
customed to  the  motion  of  it.  I  excused  the  captain  for  laughing  at 
me;  I  almost  laughed  at  my  own  ignorance. 

As  we  neared  the  tropics  the  days  were  longer  and  the  nights  shorter. 
We  had  fair  winds,  but  very  light.  We  progressed  but  slowly,  but  we 
were  all  as  happy  and  as  cheerful  as  so  large  a  number  of  persons,  living 
in  one  house,  could  be.  Our  time  did  not  hang  heavy  on  our  hands.  My 
Bible  was  my  most  valued  companion;  but  cousin  Tom  and  Neptune 
were  valuable  auxiliaries.  Our  shipmaster — or,  for  politeness'  sake,  our 
captain — was  a  gentleman,  a  good  sailor,  and  a  kind  father  to  all  his 
numerous  family  on  board  the  Portland.  As  we  neared  the  equator 
we  had  less  wind  and  more  heat.  Some  of  our  passengers  were  anx- 
ious to  know  whether  Neptune  would  visit  our  ship  as  she  crossed  the 
line,  and  handle  those  roughly  who  had  never  crossed  the  line.*  Nei> 
tune  the  Second,  who  was  on  board,  assured  me  that  if  his  namesake 
came  on  board,  to  handle  the  passengers  roughly,  I  should  be  exemj)t. 

Some  of  our  masculines  asked  our  good-natured  captain  if  they 
could  see  the  line  when  passing  it. 

"Oh,  yes!"  said  he,  laughing. 

This  piece  of  nautical  information  sped  round,  and  many  believed 
it.  All  such  were  to  have  the  use  of  the  captain's  glass  to  look 
through.  The  splendid  telescope  was  in  place;  excitement  ran  high 
as  we  neared  the  line.  No  one  could  see  it  but  only  those  who  were 
privileged  to  look  through  the  glass;  and  to  them  the  line  shone  out 
as  clear  as  day.  Oh!  it  was  beautiful!  What?  The  equator,  the  line 
which  divided  North  from  South  latitude?  No;  but  the  beautiful  line 
they  saw  was  a  hair  that  the  fun-loving  captain  had  stretched  across 
the  lens  of  the  instrument.     Cousin  Tom  had  prepared  me  for  this; 

•It  is  a  common  custom  to  duck  such  persons  with  buckets  of  sea-water. 


62  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

and,  as  I  was  in  the  secret,  I  enjoyed  the  fun  amazingly.  The  cap- 
tain loved  a  little  harmless  fun,  such  as  this;  but  he  sternly  forbade 
old  Neptune,  the  god  of  the  sea,  to  enter  his  ship.  His  visits  were 
troublesome  and  disagreeable  to  those  who  for  the  first  time  crossed 
the  equator.  Our  ship  was  becalmed  about  one  degree  from  the  equa- 
tor. The  heat  was  intense.  The  sails  went  flapping  about.  The 
ship  rolled  about  with  the  ground  swell.  The  sea  was  like  molten 
glass.  Everybody  was  idle  and  listless.  It  Avas  tqp)  hot  to  sit  or  walk 
on  deck  in  the  daytime.  The  sun  was  scorching,  and  not  a  breath  of 
air  was  stirring.  Below  it  was  stifling.  Our  water  was  not  sweet. 
Water  being  carried  on  a  long  voyage  rots  after  a  few  weeks,  and  then 
purifies  itself.  Our  ship  carried  immense  tanks  of  water,  but  none 
too  much,  and  none  to  waste  or  use  in  our  ablutions.  Salt  water  was 
used  for  almost  every  purpose  but  cooking  and  drinking.  The  sailors 
had  nothing  to  do ;  everything  was  trim.  They  kept  throwing  water 
on  the  decks  to  cool  them,  and  to  keep  the  pitch  from  melting  and  the 
seams  from  opening.  The  two  weeks  that  we  were  becalmed  on  the 
equator,  or  near  by  it,  were  idle,  lazy  and  listless  weeks.  One  thing 
I  noticed,  but  was  too  idle  to  speak  of  it :  our  shadows  looked  very 
short.  A  slight  breeze  at  last  sprang  up  and  we  moved,  but  very 
slowly.  We  were  all  thankful  for  the  motion,  though  it  was  so  slight. 
We  breathed  more  freely.     One  day  some  one  remarked  to  me : 

"Why,  you  have  no  shadow!" 

I  looked  round  and  round,  but,  sure  enough,  I  had  lost  my  shadow; 
but  I  was  not  the  only  one.  All  on  board  the  ship,  and  the  ship  itself, 
had  lost  their  shadows.  The  sun  was  in  the  zenith,  and  we  were  di- 
recdy  under  him.  The  excitement  when  about  to  cross  the  equator 
was  nothing  to  compare  to  what  now  prevailed.  Two  or  three  persons 
would  stand  in  a  row  and  look  for  their  shadows,  but  no  shadow,  or 
the  shade  of  shadows,  appeared.  How  we  all  enjoyed  this  new  ex- 
perience !  We  had  something  new  to  talk  about.  The  captain  could 
not  take  an  observation  till  the  sun  would  move  from  the  zenith,  or  we 
from .  under  it.  When  our  shadows  were  next  seen  they  fell  to  the 
south  of  us  instead  of  the  north,  as  they  had  done.  We  were  now  in 
South  latitude. 

We  had  a  young  lady  on  board  who  had  not  been  on  deck  since  we 
sailed.  She  had  been  sick  in  the  hospital.  To  her  I  made  a  daily 
visit,  to  tell  her  what  was  going  on  in  our  little  world,  and  to  cheer  her 
up.  The  sun  from  a  cloudless  sky  shone  in  his  midday  splendor,  re- 
flecting his  brightness  on  the  white  and  glistening  decks,  dazzling  one's 


f-AREWELL  TO  SCOTLAND.  63 

eyes  to  blindness;  and,  out  of  this  glare,  I  plunged  one  day  into  the 
darkness  of  the  hospital.  I  could  not  see  my  way,  but  I  knew  it,  and 
on  I  walked  till  I  came  to  the  open  hatchway  of  the  lazaret,  which  I 
could  not  see;  and,  being  right  in  my  pathway,  down  I  went  into  a 
deeper  darkness.  I  became  unconscious  ere  I  reached  the  bottom  of 
the  hold.  When  I  opened  my  eyes  I  did  not  know  where  I  was.  I 
closed  them  again  but  could  not  think  where  I  was.  When  I  became 
fully  conscious  I  was  lying  at  the  bottom  of  the  hold,  my  head  sup- 
ported by  one  of  the  ship's  officers.  I  moved  and  tried  to  rise,  but 
could  not.  I  was  helped  to  my  feet  and  supported  by  the  young  man. 
My  head  was  in  a  maze;  I  felt  like  lying  down  again — I  could  not 
stand  alone.  I  saw  a  dim  light  in  the  distance,  and  figures  of  men. 
The  young  man  who  supported  me  called  out:  "Make  haste!  "  I  was 
utterly  unable  to  stand,  and  I  shut  my  eyes  again.  I  could  not  make 
out  where  I  was.  Everything  was  dark  around  me,  only  the  dim  light 
in  the  distance,  which  was  moving  nearer  to  me,  and  then  two  men — 
one  with  a  great  bowl  in  his  hand,  the  other  with  a  lamp.  They  put 
the  bowl  to  my  mouth,  and  I  was  told  to  drink.  My  head  fell  away 
from  the  bowl,  but  a  hand  was  quickly  at  the  back  of  my  head :  two 
men  held  me  up,  firm  and  fast,  while  a  third  forced  me  to  take  a  great 
swallow  of  brandy,  raw  from  a  barrel.  As  soon  as  I  swallowed  the 
brandy  I  recognized  the  men,  and  asked  them  where  I  was.  They 
told  me  that  I  was  in  the  hold  of  the  ship,  that  I  had  fallen  down,  and 
they  thought  I  was  dead — I  lay  so  long  unconscious.  They  had  placed 
Jim  to  watch  the  open  hatchway,  m  case  of  an  accident,  and  he  had 
fallen  asleep,  but  was  suddenly  awakened  by  my  falling  over  him, 
I  could  not  yet  take  in  the  ludicrous  situation,  but  they  forced  me  to 
take  another  swallow  of  brandy,  and  then  I  felt  much  better.  I  could 
stand  without  support.  The  next  thing  was  to  get  me  out  of  the  hold. 
There  were  no  steps  or  ladder;  but  they  fastened  a  seat  with  ropes  and 
pulled  me  up  into  daylight  and  fresh  air,  and  I  felt  almost  well. 
The  doctor  felt  greatly  concerned  about  me,  but  I  had  no  broken 
bones,  not  even  a  bruise.  My  senses  were  shaken  out  of  me,  and  it 
was  long  ere  I  could  come  to  myself;  but  when  I  took  the  brandy, 
that  seemed  to  revive  me. 

I  was  once  more  on  deck.  The  whole  thing  seemed  a  dream  to  me, 
I  was  thankful  to  my  kind,  heavenly  Father  for  His  protecting  care, 
I  had  had  two  falls  down  into  the  hold,  and  two  very  narrow  escapes 
from  death,  through  the  carelessness  of  others;  yet  was  I  preserved, 
I  was  the  only  one  on  board  who  had  been  roughly  handled  on  cross- 


64  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

ing  the  line,  though  I  was  the  only  one  who  was  to  be  exempt.  The 
captain  told  me  that  my  adventure  in  the  hold  was  just  as  good  as  if 
"Neptune"  had  come  on  board  and  ducked  me. 

"Land  ho!  "  was  shouted  from  the  man  on  the  lookout.  This  was 
a  new  excitement.  We  were  all  on  the  lookout,  but  our  inexperienced 
eyes  could  not  see  as  far  as  those  of  a  sailor.  We  had  to  wait  a  nearer 
approach  to  it  ere  we  could  be  gratified.  When  I  was  a  very  little  girl 
I  had  an  idea  that  the  world  was  round  like  a  bannock,  and  supported 
on  a  pillar;  but  where  the  pillar  rested  gave  me  no  concern.  I  was 
taught  that  the  earth  was  a  globe,  and  was  balanced  in  space  by  the 
almighty  power  of  God.  This  idea  to  me  was  wonderful  at  first;  but 
this  wonder  gave  way  to  greater  wonders,  as  I  was  wafted  over  the 
wide  waste  of  waters  that  everywhere  surrounded  me. 

"Land  ho!"  again  passed  from  one  to  another.  Neptune  and 
cousin  Tom  were  near  me  to  show  me  and  explain  the  wonders  of  the 
beauteous  land,  that  could  only  be  seen  in  dark  outline  against  the 
eastern  sky.  We  had  not  seen  land  since  we  passed  the  tall  peak  of 
Teneriffe.  The  land  was  beginning  to  take  shape;  mountain-tops  were 
to  be  seen.  I  thought  we  were  looking  at  land,  but  Neptune  had 
traversed  these  seas  before,  and  told  me  what  I  saw  was  not  land  but 
clouds,  whicn  would  presently  assume  a  beauty  that  would  astonish 
the  beholder;  and  they  did  astonish  me.  The  sight  was  the  most  won- 
derful that  I  had  ever  seen.  I  saw  these  clouds,  dark,  dense  and  im- 
penetrable, in  some  places  charged  with  oceans  of  water.  The  stratum, 
as  it  was  stretched  across  the  sky,  looked  like  solid  land,  and  over  this 
rose  the  cumulus,  capped  with  snow,  mountain  on  mountain  piled  up 
high;  then  cirrus,  with  its  curling,  waving  streamers,  and  the  nimbus 
crowned  the  whole.  These  four  clouds  were  thrown  together,  spread 
out,  piled  up  in  every  variety  of  shape,  so  that  when  the  sun  was  in  a 
certain  position,  a  more  glorious  picture  of  cloud-land  could  not  be  im- 
agined than  was  this.  First  we  saw,  or  thought  we  saw,  the  solid  land 
with  fertile  plains,  wide-spread  and  carpeted  with  gems  of  brightest 
hue;  then  tall,  dark  forests,  and  wild  beasts  hunted  by  hunters  in 
gorgeous  array,  mounted  on  elephants,  some  on  horses,  some  on  foot 
— all  distinctly  outlined.  Then  the  snow-crowned  mountains,  ris- 
ing one  above  another,  cold  and  desolate-looking,  though  pure  white 
and  dazzling.  Then  castles,  palaces  and  thrones,  all  painted  on  the 
heavens  with  colors  the  brilliancy  of  which  is  past  description.  The 
grandeur  of  this  cloud-picture  has  never  been  effaced  from  my  memory. 
I  could  not  realize  that  this  gorgeous  picture  was  floating  clouds,  bal- 


FAREWELL  TO  SCOTLANT.  65 

anced  in  space  by  an  unseen  hand.  How  these  clouds,  so  dense,  did 
not  break  and  fall  in  torrents  of  water,  seeing  they  were  formed  of 
this  element,  was  a  wonder  to  me.  But  then  God  has  the  power  to 
balance  them,  as  He  has  the  power  to  balance  the  earth,  for  neither  has 
foundations  to  rest  upon.  "God  makes  the  clouds  his  chariots,"  and  con- 
trols them.  I  could  only  look  and  admire  and  wonder,  but  could  not  un- 
derstand. Neptune  had  seen  these  clouds  often,  but  had  never  seen  them 
so  brilliantly  colored  before.  Most  of  the  spectators  were  disappointed 
when  they  were  told  that  they  had  been  admiring  cloud-land,  and  not 
real  land.  Others  were  mortified  to  find  the  captain  quiedy  laughing  at 
their  enthusiasm  over  the  beautiful  landscape.  Those  clotids  could  not 
be  surpassed  in  coloring  by  any  landscape.  I  thoroughly  enjoyed  cloud- 
land. 

In  these  latitudes  we  saw  great  birds  flying  about,  sitting  on  the 
water,  and  rising  and  falling  on  the  crested  waves.     They  were  Alba- 
trosses.    Neptune  shot  one  one  day,  and,  as  we  were  idly  moving 
along,  he  and  another  officer  lowered  a  boat  and  went  out  on  the  broad 
bosom  of  the  Atlantic,  and  soon  they  were  in  the  distance,  looking 
like  a  speck  on  the  water.     I  felt  a  litde  afraid  that  the  ship  would 
leave  them.     They  picked  up  the  huge  floating  bird  and  were  soon 
alongside;  handed  up  the  prize,  and  sprang  up  the  ship's  side,  all  in  a 
very  short  time.     When  I  saw  all  safe  on  board  in  so  short  a  time,  I 
felt  sorry  that  I  had  not  gone  out  in  the  boat  with  them  when  they 
asked  me,  but  it  was  now  too  late  for  regrets.     I  had  great  curiosity 
to  see  this  bird,  and  study  it,  and  I  had  a  fine  opportunity.     The  Al- 
batross biomedia  has  a  very  long,  strong,  hard,  trenchant  and  com- 
pressed beak,  straight  at  the  base  and  suddenly  curved  at  the  end.    The 
nostrils  are  tubular  and  placed  in  a  furrow.     The  feet  are  short  and 
palmate,  and  there  are  three  toes  only  on  each  foot ;  nails  short  and 
dull.     The  Albatrosses  are  the  largest  of  the  oceanic  birds.     Their 
rapid  and  long-continued  flight,  notwithstanding  their  heavy,  massive 
form,  has  caused  sailors  t«  call    them  "man-of-war"  birds.       They 
are  pure  white,  with  black  wings.     Of  all  the  birds,  this  one  is  seen 
the  farthest  from  land.     They  are  mo.st  graceful  birds  on  the  wing,  or 
floating  on  the  water;  but  on  deck  they  are  the  most  awkward,  clumsy, 
waddling  creatures  imaginable — every  step  they  take  they  fall  down. 
Several  were  caught  in  nets  and  kept  alive  for  some  time,  and  we  were 
greatly  amused  at  their  absurd  attempts  to  fly.     The  Portuguese,  who 
first  doubled  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  in  describing  the  Albatross,  the 
Gull  and  Frigate  birds,  said:  "The  birds  looked  like  geese,  and  brayed 
5 


66  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

like  donkeys,  and  did  not  know  how  to  fly ;  but  spread  out  their  wings 
like  sails  and  scudded  before  the  wind." 

We  caught  several  Frigate  birds.  They  inhabit  none  but  intertropical 
regions.  Their  flight  is  so  powerful  and  rapid,  and  so  far  from  land, 
that  they  have  shared  the  name  of  "man-of-war"  birds  with  the  Alba- 
tross. Frigate  birds  are  great  enemies  to  the  flying  fish.  Of  course 
these  birds  are  web-footed  and  long-winged;  as  also  the  Boobies,  which 
are  very  stupid  birds — hence  their  name. 

"There  she  blows! "  was  a  cry  from  the  bows  one  day.  We  were 
all  on  the  alert. 

"What  is  it?"  ran  along  the  ship. 

"A  whale!     Look  how  she  spouts  the  water!" 

I  looked  and  saw  jets  of  water  rise  high  in  air,  from  an  object  not 
yet  visible  to  us.  We  soon  both  saw  and  heard  the  blowers.  Sev- 
eral of  the  hughest  animals  that  live  either  on  land  or  in  the  water  rose 
out  of  the  water,  and  what  enormous  bodies  they  had!  We  got  suffi- 
ciently near  to  see  that  they  were  sperm  whales.  There  seemed  to  be 
quite  a  number  of  them  at  play.  These  long,  big-headed  blowers  in- 
habit from  choice  the  equatorial  regions.  They  are  met  with  in  bands 
of  females,  led  by  two  males,  which  are  much  larger  than  the  females. 
They  feed  on  molluscs.  The  muzzle,  which  is  of  cubic  form,  is  trun- 
cated in  front,  with  a  single  spiracle  or  breathing-hole.  These  animals 
are  about  seventy  feet  long.  The  tail  is  about  eight  feet  wide;  their 
heads  are  enormous  and  singularly  shaped,  flat-topped,  and  all  above 
the  face  and  cranium  is  formed  into  a  large  oval  basin,  divided  into 
two  stories,  which  contain  the  spermaceti.  The  whalers  dip  the  oil 
out  of  the  head  as  out  of  a  well.  This  animal  has  less  blubber  than 
the  Balaena  whale.  The  odorous  substance,  known  as  ambergris,  met 
with  floating  on  the  surface  of  the  sea,  appears  to  be  a  morbid  con- 
cretion formed  in  the  intestines  of  these  animals.  And  this  aromatic 
substance  is  used  in  materia  medica  as  a  highly  valued  drug. 

Farther  south  we  see  another  variety  of  cetaceous  blowers,  the  com- 
mon whale  Balaena.  It  is  enormous  in  size — between  seventy  and  a 
hundred  feet  long.  Its  head  is  one-third  the  length  of  its  body,  and 
its  jaws  are  from  fifteen  to  twenty  feet  long,  but  without  teeth;  and 
the  upper  one,  which  is  keel-shaped,  is  furnished  with  whalebone. 
This  name  is  given  to  great  horny  plates,  of  fibrous  texture,  which  are 
very  elastic,  and  fringed  at  their  ends,  and  are  placed  transversely,  like 
the  teeth  of  a  comb,  strongly  locked  one  into  the  other,  and  attached 
to  the  jaw  at  the  base,  so  as  to  extend  from  each  side  of  the  palate, 


FAREWELL  TO  SCOTLAND.  6^ 

forming  a  sort  of  great  sieve,  through  which  the  water  taken  into  the 
immense  mouth  of  the  animal  partly  escapes,  without  letting  out  the 
small  animals  which  it  contains.  The  size  of  whales'  heads  leads  many 
to  suppose  that  they  live  on  large  fishes;  but  this  is  a  mistake.  They 
have  no  teeth,  and  the  muscles  of  their  jaws  are  weak.  I'heir  esoph- 
agus is  very  small;  they  can  only  swallow  molluscs,  zoophytes  whose 
bodies  are  soft  as  jelly;  and  these  are  so  numerous  that  the  whale  has 
only  to  open  his  mouth  and  thousands  enter.  Part  of  the  water  drawn 
in  with  the  food  runs  out  again  through  the  whalebone  sieve;  but  the 
greater  part  is  pressed  back  by  the  tongue,  and  blown  out  with  great 
force  and  noise  through  the  nares  on  top  of  his  head.  It  rises  in  jets 
forty  feet  high,  and  falls  in  spray.  They  swim  with  great  rapidity. 
They  are  timid  and  fearful;  but  when  pursued  and  defending  them- 
selves, they  become  furious  and  put  forth  their  whole  strength,  to- fight 
or  flee.  Their  tail  is  their  weapon  of  defense;  and,  when  they  strike 
the  water  with  it  they  produce  a  commotion  like  that  from  a  cannon- 
ball.  A  whale  about  seventy  feet  long  has  been  ascertained  to  weigh 
about  seventy  tons,  equal  to  the  weight  of  one  hundred  and  forty  oxen. 
Most  of  the  sea  giants  are  enormous  in  size.  They  have  warm  blood. 
The  heart  has  two  ventricles  and  a  double  circulation.  Their  young  are 
born  alive  and  are  suckled  by  the  mother.  Truly,  those  who  go  down 
to  the  sea  in  ships,  afki  do  business  on  the  great  waters,  see  the  won- 
ders of  the  Lord!  I  would  sit  for  hours  watching  these  monstrous 
giants  at  play  in  their  native  element,  and  think  and  feel  how  small 
and  insignificant  in  comparison  I  was.  But,  when  my  own  littleness, 
ignorance  and  insignificance  would  trouble  me,  I  would  have  recourse 
to  my  Bible,  to  be  reassured  that  I  was  not  overlooked,  seeing  the  spar- 
rows were  looked  after.  My  faith  in  my  heavenly  Father's  care  of  me 
never  wavered;  but  I  felt  of  so  little  consequence  in  the  scale  of  cre- 
ation that  I  had  always  to  look  to  Jesus  to  find  out  my  own  value — at 
least  the  value  He  put  on  me.  I  had  cost  Him  too  much  to  be  neg- 
lected by  Him. 

"Jesus,  I  love  thy  charming  name,"  were  words  often  breathed  by 
md  in  the  midst  of  tumult.  Everything  in  nature  that  I  saw  interested 
me,  and  I  studied  as  much  as  I  could.  But  I  had  sad  and  sober 
thoughts.  I  often  wondered  if  my  mother  thought  of  me.  I  would 
turn  from  my  earthly  to  my  heavenly  parent  for  comfort.  I  looked  to 
the  future,  and  though  my  pathway  was  veiled  from  my  view,  yet  I 
had  no  fear,  for  God  had  said,  and  I  believed:  "I  will  be  a  swift  wit- 
ness against  those  who  oppress  the  hireling  in  his  wages,  the  widow 


68  THE  Si'.r.'   OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

and  the  fatherless,  and  that  turn  asid^  the  stranger  from  his  right,  and 
fear  not  me,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts."  I  did  most  emphatically  trust 
myself  to  the  guardianship  of  my  heavenly  Father. 

The  deep  azure  of  the  sky,  and  the  dryness  of  the  atmosphere  in  the 
Southern  latitudes,  greatly  favor  the  observation  of  clouds  and  con- 
stellations. The  Southern  Cross  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  constella- 
tions of  the  South.  It  is  formed  of  four  stars.  It  has  been  ascertained 
at  what  time  of  the  night  at  different  seasons,  the  Cross  of  the  South  is 
erect  or  inclined.  It  is  a  time-piece  that  advances  very  regularly  near 
four  minutes  a  day,  and  no  other  group  of  stars  exhibits  to  the  naked 
eye  an  observation  of  time  so  easily  made. 

"Midnight  is  past,  the  cross  begins  to  bend."  Humboldt  says: 
"The  less  regular  distribution  of  light  gives  to  the  zone  of  the  Southern 
sky,  situated  between  the  parallels  of  50°  and  80°,  which  is  so  rich  in 
crowded  nebulous  spots  and  starry  masses,  a  peculiar  and,  one  might 
say,  almost  picturesque  character,  depending  on  the  grouping  of  the 
stars  of  the  first  and  second  magnitudes,  and  their  separation  by  inter- 
vals, which  appear  to  the  naked  eye  desert  and  devoid  of  radiance." 
"How  beautiful  are  all  thy  works,  O  Lord!  In  wisdom  hast  thou 
made  them  all." 

We  could  not  drink  or  cook  with  "rotten  water,"  and  our  fresh  water 
gave  out  before  its  time;  so,  as  we  neared  th^Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
the  captain,  a  good  man,  thought  he  would  put  in  for  a  fresh  supply. 
This  proposition  gave  universal  satisfaction.  Our  voyage  seemed 
more  like  a  pleasure  trip  than  anything  else,  and  the  Cape  was  one  of 
the  points  of  interest  that  we  were  to  see.  We  were  all  glad  that  we 
needed  water.  In  those  days  there  were  no  condensers,  or  but  few, 
to  distill  the  salt  into  fresh  water,  and  steamships  alone  could  use 
them.  Though  the  weather  was  fine,  we  had  a  terrible  pitching  and 
tossing  with  the  great  ground  swell,  as  we  rolled  and  tumbled  into 
"Table  Bay."  The  Bay  is  greatly  exposed  to  the  heavy  swell  of  the 
ocean,  though  it  gives  safe  anchorage  to  ships.  We  entered  "Table 
Bay"  with  colors  flying,  sails  spread  wide,  and  everything  ship-shape. 
We  had  traveled  far,  but  were  nothing  worsted.  What  a  glorious  view 
presented  itself  to  our  admiring  gaze, — the  shimmering  of  the  water 
in  the  morning  sun;  the  tall  ships  that  lay  lazily  at  anchor;  and 
row-boats  of  various  sizes,  plying  hither  and  thither,  and  darting  along 
with  the  velocity  of  birds,  skimming  over  the  lucid  deep  as  lightly  as 
the  petrels  that  sport  around  them.  There  was  life,  yet  great  repose, 
no  bustle,  no  hurry.     We  let  go  the  anchor  as  near  to  the  shore  as  we 


FAREWELL  TO   SCOTLAND.  69 

could.  Large  vessels  can  not  get  close  to  the  landing-place.  We  were 
sufficiently  near  to  see  the  picturesque  town  to  great  advantage.  We 
had  a  striking  view  of  Table  Mountain,  as  it  rose  almost  perpendicu- 
lar with  dark  and  frowning  front  to  meet  the  clouds.  The  White 
Cloud,  in  beautiful  contrast,  rolling  over  atid  spreading  out  on  the  top 
of  the  Table,  has  the  name  of  "Table  Cloth,"  a  very  appropriate  name, 
I  think.  On  either  hand  rise  the  barren  crags  of  Lion's  Head  and 
Devil's  Peak.  At  the  foot  of  the  mountain  nesdes  Cape  Town,  like  a 
child  with  its  back  against  a  rock  and  its  feet  in  the  water.  So  near  to 
the  water  did  it  seem,  that  we  could  imagine  it  sat  in  it;  so  near  to  the 
mountain  did  it  seem,  we  could  imagine  it  leaned  against  it.  The 
town  is  regularly  laid  out,  and  in  Dutch  style,  with  canals  in  the  princi- 
pal streets.  The  white-washed  houses,  and  green  painted  verandas,  and 
shining  windows,  looked  charming  in  the  distance.  We  had  not  long 
let  go  the  anchor,  till  we  were  surrounded  by  a  number  of  boats  full  of 
fruits  and  bread.  The  bread  was  the  whitest  I  ever  saw,  but,  while 
eating  it,  you  had  to  crunch  what  felt  like  the  white  sand  from  the  beach, 
mixed  in  with  the  flour.  The  fruits  were  of  various  kinds,  luscious  and 
very  abundant. 

Mr,  Holmes  told  me  in  the  evening  that  several  parties  were  going 
ashore  in  hired  boats,  but  the  captain  had  placed  his  own  boat  at  his 
disposal,  and  told  him  to  take  me  ashore  with  him,  if  I  wished  to  go; 
that  I  was  a  very  good  girl,  and  deserved  to  have  some  pleasure.  I 
was  very  much  surprised  at  this  compliment  from  the  captain,  and  as 
much  pleased  as  surprised.  I  liked  the  captain,  but  stood  in  great  aAve 
of  him,  and  had  very  litde  to  say  to  him.  Indeed,  I  talked  to  few  on 
board,  except  my  cousin  and  his  friend  Neptune.  I  never  asked  the 
captain  troublesome  questions;  this,  no  doubt,  he  liked.  Mr.  Holmes 
selected  a  very  nice  party  to  go  ashore  with  him,  and  the  next  morning 
we  were  all  in  our  "go  ashore"  dresses.  We  were  lowered  into  the 
boat  very  carefully.  Cousin  Tom  said  he  was  sorry  he  could  not  go 
with  us.  The  captain  had  said  "the  officers  and  crew  are  to  remain 
on  board  while  the  passengers  are  on  shore."  We  had  violins  and  bag- 
pipes on  board,  so  we  had  lively  music  going  ashore  from  the  ship. 
We  were  a  merry  party.  We  landed,  and  walked  to  a  very  fine  hotel, 
had  an  excellent  breakfast,  and  were  very  handsomely  treated  by  Cap- 
tain Lewis,  the  proprietor  of  the  hotel.  He  was  an  elegant  gentleman, 
young,  comparatively,  and  very  handsome.  He  said  he  was  delighted 
to  meet  Scotch  people;  he  admired  and  loved  them,  and  had  most  pro- 
found veneration  for  the  Scotch  character.     He  had  not  seen  Scotch 


70  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

ladies  for  many  years,  and  he  was  at  the  service  of  all  present,  wouU 
do  everything  to  make  their  visit  to  tlie  Cape  pleasant.  And  he  ful 
filled  his  promises.  The  whole  house  seemed  turned  up-side  down  fo 
our  accommodation.  I  was  admiring  some  oil  paintings  on  the  wall 
of  the  parlor  we  were  in,  when  he  came  to  my  side  to  give  me  souk 
information  concerning  them.  I  was  interested  in  what  he  said,  anc 
the  manner  in  which  he  said  it  was  pleasant.  He  asked  me  if  I  wer( 
fond  of  paintings. 

''I  like  everything  that  is  beautiful;  but  I  know  very  little  abou 
paintings,"  I  said. 

He  said  he  had  a  few  superb  pictures  upstairs  in  the  drawing-room 
he  would  take  pleasure  in  showing  them  to  me,  if  I  would  do  him  th( 
pleasure  to  accompany  him.  I  asked  Mrs.  Holmes  to  go  with  me,  bu 
she  sent  Miss  King,  a  young  lady  friend,  in  her  stead.  We  went  uj 
stairs  to  admire  paintings,  but  we  admired  everything  we  saw.  Every 
thing  was  elegant  as  oriental  splendor  could  make  it.  Captain  Lewi 
showed  us  the  various  suites  of  rooms  his  house  contained,  all  fitted  uj 
in  a  style  more  gorgeous  than  I  had  ever  seen  before.  I  was  perfectly 
charmed,  after  having  been  so  many  weeks  confined  to  one  small  roon 
in  our  ship.  I  sank  down  on  one  of  the  velvet  covered  divans,  an( 
thought  of  my  perch  on  the  spars.  I  had  been  confined  and  crampec 
up,  but  did  not  realize  it.  I  now  felt  a  freedom  of  limb  that  I  thoroughb 
enjoyed,  all  the  fine  sights  were  truly  refreshing,  and  the  owner  of  al 
this  grandeur  was,  for  the  time  being,  our  ^'■humble  servant."  Al 
was  so  pleasant  in  our  survey,  we  hardly  knew  how  to  keep  our  admir 
ation  within  bounds.  We  returned  to  the  drawing-room,  where  wer( 
two  grand  pianos.  The  Captain  sat  down  and  played,  and  sang  som( 
beautiful  pieces.  He  had  a  rich,  full  voice,  and  played  exquisitely 
Our  host  excused  himself  for  a  minute,  and  left  the  room,  but  shortly 
returned  with  a  jewel  case  in  his  hand.  He  opened  it,  and  there  lay  i 
very  costly  set  of  jewels,  necklace,  bracelets,  ear-rings  and  a  finger-rinj 
of  great  value.  We  both  admired,  and  exclaimed,  "Oh,  how  beautiful!' 
He  put  the  case  into  my  hand,  and  asked  me  to  accept  of  it  as  a  me 
mento  of  our  visit  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

"Oh,  Captain,  I  would  not  dare  to  accept  of  so  valuable  a  gift  fron 
a  stranger." 

"I  have  no  lady  friend  to  whom  I  can  present  it,  and  you  will  d( 
me  a  favor  to  accept  it.  Take  the  case  to  your  mother,  and  ask  he; 
permission  to  accept  it." 

"My  mother  is  in  Scotland,"  I  said,  with  a  quivering  voice. 


FAREWELL  TO  SCOTLAND.  7 1 

He  thought  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Holmes  were  my  parents.    He  then  said : 

"Take  them  to  your  guardians  and  ask  them." 

I  took  the  jewels  to  Mrs.  Holmes  for  her  to  admire.  She  asked  me 
what  I  intended  to  do  with  them. 

"Return  them  to  their  owner,"  I  said;  "I  can  not,  dare  not,  accept 
of  them.     I  could  not  wear  them  in  my  present  circumstances." 

I  returned  them  to  their  owner.  He  asked  if  I  would  not  accept  of 
the  ring.  I  thanked  him  for  his  kindness,  but  firmly  refused  the  beau- 
tiful gem.  The  temptation  to  accept  the  case  was  very  great;  but  I 
had  nothing  in  my  wardrobe  suitable  to  wear  with  such  splendid  jewels, 
and  their  possession  might  draw  my  thoughts  more  to  earth  and  earthly 
possessions  than  I  cared  for. 

Our  party  separated,  some  going  one  way,  some  another.  Miss  King 
and  I  took  a  stroll  over  the  town  alone;  at  least  we  started  with  that 
intention,  but  Captain  Lewis,  either  intentionally  or  unintentionally, 
joined  us  before  we  had  gone  far.  The  quaint,  square-roofed  houses, 
whitewashed,  and  the  green  shutters  and  verandas  were  new  to  us, 
and  so  were  the  canals  along  the  streets.  There  were  some  fine 
villas  in  the  vicinity  of  the  town,  and  beautiful  walks  shaded  with 
oaks,  poplars  and  pines.  The  streets  were  also  shaded,  and  lined 
with  trees.  There  was  one  beautiful  walk,  whence  we  had  a  splen- 
did view  of  the  town  and  the  bay,  and  a  commanding  view  of 
the  sandy  plain  and  distant  mountains.  This  walk  led  along  the  top 
of  Wynbey  Hill,  was  wide  and.  thickly  lined  with  tall  trees,  whose 
branches  interlaced  at  the  top,  and  formed  a  complete  leafy  arch,  imper- 
vious to  the  sun's  rays.  It  was  perfectly  delightful  to  sit  on  a  rustic  seat 
under  the  shade  of  this  arched  avenue,  and  look  abroad  upon  a  scene  so 
beautiful  and  new. 

We  saw  Hottentot  women  washing  clothes  in  a  brook  in  a  very  prim- 
itive style.  The  clothes  were  put  on  a  stone  worn  flat,  just  a  kw 
inches  bf;low  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  with  another  stone  they 
beat  and  battered  the  clothes  most  unmercifully,  without  regard  to  but- 
tons or  hooks  and  eyes.  They  used  no  soap,  only  beat  out  the  impur- 
ities and  let  the  running  stream  carry  them  off.  The  clothes  thus 
washed  looked  pure  and  white.  These  Hottentot  women  are  very 
ugly.  They  are  short  and  thick,  with  a  bustle  or  tornure  so  large  that 
a  full-grown  person  could  sit  on  it.  This,  their  natural  shape,  they 
think  very  handsome.  I  think  it  a  hideous  deformity.  Their  eyes 
ire  restless,  rambling,  ape-like;  they  have  an  ugly  expression;  flat  nose, 


72  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE, 

thick  lips,  and  a  click  in  their  voice.  Their  bodies  are  a  wonder  to 
anatomists. 

We  returned  to  the  hotel  to  dinner,  and  we  fared  sumptuously.  Af- 
ter dinner  the  captain  had  his  black  horses  and  phaeton  at  the  door, 
and  said  he  would  be  happy  to  give  me  a  drive  to  the  suburbs,  where  I 
would  have  a  new  view.  He  did  not  ask  Miss  King  to  go,  as  his 
phaeton  had  only  two  seats;  so  I  politely  refused  to  go,  much  as  I 
should  have  enjoyed  a  drive.  I  could  not  drive  out  alone  with  a  strange 
gentleman. 

Our  doctor  had  given,  as  a  preventive  of  sickness,  a  dancing  pre- 
scription. I  never  felt  inclined  to  join  the  dancers  on  board,  but  in 
the  parlor  the  bagpipes  and  violins  were  vieing  with  each  other,  which 
would  send  forth  the  most  enticing  dance  music.  I  said  I  should  like 
to  see  how  they  danced  to  the  bagpipes.  The  captain  asked  me  to 
dance  a  Scotch  reel  with  him,  and  as  I  had  just  refused  to  drive  out 
with  him,  I  consented.  I  could  dance,  and  loved  it,  but  had  forsaken 
it.  The  bagpiper  was  asked  to  play  the  tune  for  the  reel,  and  my 
Scotch  Tartan  dress  was  to  figure  in  it.  I  laughed  at  the  idea  of  we 
two  only  dancing  a  Scotch  reel,  but  when  the  piper  began  a  real  reel 
tune,  I  was  off.  My  partner  seemed  to  enjoy  this  reel  amazingly;  I 
know  I  did. 

Our  kind  and  gentlemanly  host  had  so  often  said  through  the  day 
that  he  loved  the  Scotch,  that  Mr.  Holmes  began  to  suspect  that  he 
wanted  some  of  the  Scotch  party  to  remain  at  the  Cape,  Mr.  Holmes 
called  for  our  bill,  but  the  gallant  captain  said  that  he  charged  him 
and  his  party  nothing;  he  said  he  had  felt  great  pleasure  in  entertain- 
ing us,  and  he  entertained  us  very  handsomely.  As  we  intended  to 
sleep  on  board  ship,  we  prepared  to  leave  our  kind  host.  He  said  he 
would  like  us  to  stay  at  his  house  as  long  as  the  ship  remained  in  the 
bay,  free  of  charge.  This  offer  was  more  than  kind.  Our  own  cap- 
tain's boat  was  waiting  for  us,  so  we  started.  Our  host  accompanied 
us  to  the  ship  in  another  boat. 

Our  Pibroch  continued  pealing  or  squealing  all  the  way  over  the 
water,  to  the  great  astonishment  of  the  Dutch  boatmen.  After  part- 
ing with  our  kind  host,  reaching  the  deck,  Captain  Lewis  handed  up 
a  basket  to  me,  filled  with  the  most  delicious  fruits,  a  bottle  of  goat's 
milk  (something  I  had  never  tasted  before),  and  some  old  and  rare 
Constantia  wine;  all  of  which  was  unexpected,  but  fully  appreciated. 

"Good-bye,  Captain  Lewis!  I  thank  you  for  all  your  kindness;  I 
shall  never  forget  it." 


FAREWELL  TO  SCOTLAND.  73 

"Come  back  and  stay  here  altogether,"  he  said,  as  we  shook  hands. 
"No;  I  must  see  more  of  the  world,  now  that  I  have  started  on 

my  travels,"  said  I. 

"Will  you  come  back  with  me  if  I  go  to  Australia  for  you?" 

I  was  somewhat  startled  at  this  speech,  but  I  said : 

"Oh,  no!     Do  not  think  of  such  a  thing.     I  think  we  must  part 

without  the  probability  of  ever  meeting  again.    Once  more,  good-bye !  " 

"But  still  upon  our  pilgrimage  we  pause  a  while,  and  lo! 
In  some  fresh  ties  and  hopes  engage,  that  make  it  sad  to  go." 

Rough  weather  outside  kept  us  in  our  sheltered  harbor  for  eight  days. 
This  I  did  not  regret,  as  I  could  see  more  of  the  Cape  and  the  people. 

One  day  I  saw  twelve  pair  of  oxen  drawing  a  dray  with  some  bar- 
rels of  wine  they  had  brought  from  Constantia.     I  exclaimed : 

"How  cruel  to  make  cows  draw  carts." 

I  had  never  seen  ox-teams  before.  There  was  a  little  laugh  at  my 
expense,  and  I  enjoyed  it.  The  Dutch  boor,  who  drove  the  team  of 
twenty-four  oxen,  was  perched  on  top  of  a  long  pole,  with  a  seat  on 
top  of  it,  his  head  and  shoulders  protected  by  a  huge  sombrero,  which 
served  for  a  parasol.  It  threw  off  the  rain  and  kept  off  the  sun.  It 
was  a  curious-looking  article,  but  very  useful,  as  it  spread  wide  all 
round  his  shoulders,  and  tapered  away  into  a  point  above  his  head. 
This  quaint-looking  boor,  as  he  sat  on  a  pole  eighteen  feet  high,  with 
a  whip  long  enough  to  reach  the  foremost  ox,  with  his  oxen  and  his 
little  dray,  was  to  me  a  very  singular  sight. 

I  had  thought  it  a  cruel  thing  to  yoke  cows  together,  but  when  I 
saw  men  tied  two  and  two  together,  and  driven  into  the  sea,  till  they 
were  above  their  waists  in  water,  and  then  haul  out  great  logs  of  tim- 
ber, I  thought  this  was  more  cruel.  The  half  nude  men  thus  treated 
were  not  prisoners,  as  I  had  supposed,  but  CafTres,  with  a  Dutchman 
to  superintend  their  labor.  They  were  handsome  fellows;  tall,  well 
made  and  strong,  with  black  eyes  and  brown  skins.  The  Caffres  are 
differently  described  by  different  authors.  Lichinstein  says:  "The 
universal  characteristic  of  all  the  tribes  of  this  great  nation  is  an 
external  form  and  figure  varying  exceedingly  from  the  other  nations 
of  Africa.  They  are  much  taller  and  stronger,  and  their  limbs  are 
better  proportioned.  Tlieir  color  is  brown,  their  hair  black  and  woolly. 
Their  countenances  have  a  character  peculiar  to  themselves,  which 
does  not  permit  their  being  included  in  the  other  African  nations  or 
races.     They  have  the  high  forehead  and  prominent  nose  of  the  Eu- 


74  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

ropean,  the  thick  Hps  of  the  negro,  and  the  high  cheek-bone  of  the 
Hottentot.  Their  physical  and  moral  traits  partake  of  the  highest  and 
the  lowest  of  the  African  races." 

Cape  Colony  lies  30°  and  35"  South  latitude.  It  possesses  a  com- 
paratively temperate  climate.  Its  exports  are  wine,  wool,  skins,  ivory 
and  palm  oil.  It  was  discovered  by  Bartholomew  Diaz  in  i486,  and 
in  1520  it  was  taken  possession  of  by  the  English.  In  1650  it  was 
colonized  by  the  Dutch;  in  1795  it  was  again  taken  by  the  En- 
glish, but  was  restored  to  the  Dutch  in  1802.  In  1806  it  was 
again  taken  by  the  English,  and  was  confirmed  to  them  in  the  general 
peace  of  18 14.  The  Caffres  and  colonists  have  had  many  fights  since 
then.  The  inhabitants  are  English,  Dutch,  Caffres  and  Hottentots. 
The  beautiful  Dutch  town,  with  its  quaint,  flat-roofed  houses,  its  ter- 
raced gardens,  its  canals,  its  shaded  avenues,  its  beautiful  villas,  its 
fruits  and  flowers,  all  nestling  at  the  foot  of  the  great  mountain,  forms 
a  perfect  picture,  and,  if  once  seen,  is  not  soon  forgotten. 

I  sat  at  the  ship's  side,  drinking  in  the  beauty  of  this  scene,  while 
others  were  dancing.  This  became  a  favorite  amusement,  and  it 
proved  beneficial — saving  the  doctor  some  trouble. 

The  fragrance  from  the  orange  groves  was  gently  wafted  across  the 
water  by  softly  blowing  zephyrs.  The  moon  walked  abroad  in  her 
garb  of  light,  and  her  reflected  rays  danced  upon  the  rippling  waters 
of  the  bay,  and  the  bay  itself,  mirror-like,  reflected  the  shadows  of  the 
tall  ships,  while  small  boats  darted  like  graceful  swans  across  the  still 
water.  Some  of  these  had  violin,  flute,  or  guitar,  or  all  three,  and 
they  sent  forth  upon  the  still  air  soft  sweet  sounds  that  were  soothing 
to  the  soul.  Music  on  the  water  has  more  charms,  I  think,  than  on 
the  land.  The  dancers  were  tired;  some  went  to  their  cabins,  some 
to  cards.  I  kept  my  seat;  the  evening  was  not  far  spent.  I  was 
charmed  by  the  scene  of  beauty  which  lay  before  me,  and  my  last  ad- 
miring look  lingered  long  and  lovingly  on  that  which  I  might  never  see 
again.  The  picture  of  that  scene  is  painted  on  my  memory,  as  if  by 
a  moonbeam,  in  soft,  pure,  light  colors. 

"  Look  around !     Of  all  the  clouds  not  one  is  moving; 
'Tis  the  still  hour  of  thinking,  feeling,  loving. 
Silent  and  steadfast  as  the  vaulted  sky, 
The  boundless  plain  of  waters  seems  to  lie. 
Comes  that  low  sound  from  breezes  rustling  o'er 
The  grass-crowned  headland  that  conceals  the  shore? 
No!  'tis  the  earth-voice  of  the  mighty  sea, 
J  Whispering  how  quiet  he  can  be." 


FAREWELL  TO  SCOTLAND.  75 

Our  ship's  supply  of  fresh  meat  was  greatly  augmented  by  a  number 
of  Cape  sheep  being  brought  on  board.  These  sheep  are  remarkable 
for  their  huge,  fat  tails,  which  weigh  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  pounds. 
The  body  of  the  sheep  is  small,  and  the  wool  is  inferior.  The  tail  is 
the  principal  part.  We  had  sheep's  tail  soup — very  good,  indeed — as 
long  as  the  sheep  lasted.  We  had  a  plentiful  supply  of  all  the  semi- 
tropical  fruits  brought  on  board,  which  lasted  some  time. 

My  visit  to  Cape  Town  gave  me,  from  beginning  to  end,  unalloyed 
pleasure;  but  it  was  not  so  with  others  on  board.  On  calling  the 
roll  of  passengers  ere  we  started,  or  rather  resumed  our  voyage,  one 
of  our  hospital  nurses  was  missing.  She  had  gone  ashore  and  had 
not  been  seen  since.  Search  was  made  all  over  the  town ;  the  author- 
ities were  notified,  and  they  searched,  but  all  to  no  purpose.  We  had 
to  sail  without  her;  but  our  captain  left  a  letter  with  the  proper  author- 
ities to  continue  the  search,  and,  if  they  found  her  living,  to  send  her 
home  to  her  native  land  by  the  first  opportunity;  if  dead,  to  write  to 
her  friends  of  her  fate.  She  had  been  a  good,  kind  nurse.  The  mys- 
tery that  hung  over  her  fate  cast  a  shadow  over  the  hearts  of  the 
thoughtful.     Poor  Mary! 

At  the  break  of  day  one  morning  the  sails  were  spread  to  the  fresh- 
ening breeze,  and  filled  with  a  fair  wind,  and  we  moved  out  of  Table 
Bay  on  a  flowing  sea.     I  was  glad  to  go,  yet  sorry  to  leave. 

"Now  here,  now  there  our  steps  abide;  then  something  spurs  us  on — 
A  few  short  hours  bring  back  the  tide:  we  came  and  we  are  gone." 

The  first  Sunday  we  were  out  dh  the  Indian  Ocean  we  had  all  set- 
tled down  in  our  floating  home  and  to  our  ship  duties — our  sailors  all 
clean  and  trim  as  usual,  in  their  "go-to-ship-church  clothes."  On  Sunday 
they  were  always  exempt  from  every  kind  of  work,  except  what  was 
absolutely  necessary.  After  the  doctor  had  read  the  service  for  the 
day,  and  all  had  taken  their  books  and  were  reading,  and  quietly  wait- 
ing to  hear  the  dinner-bell  call,  the  captain  called  aloud  for  his  tele- 
scope, and  looked  a  long  time  in  one  direction,  and  then  gave  the 
glass  to  his  first  officer,  and  he  looked  long  in  the  same  direction. 

"Bout  ship,"  shouted  the  captain;  "Bear  down  on  that  disabled 
ship."  In  a  moment,  "bout"  went  the  ship,  and  uj)  started  every  one 
to  his  or  her  feet,  and  all  were  eagerly  looking  out  for  the  unfortunate 
ship.  We  bore  down  upon  her  rapidly,  and  got  near  enough  to  her 
for  the  captain  to  speak  through  his  trumpet,  and  ask  those  we  were 
trying    to    approach  what   tlicy  wanted.       "Everything,"    was   the 


76  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

answer.  On  a  nearer  approach,  we  found  the  distressed  ship  had  shat- 
tered masts  and  tattered  sails.  There  were  .only  a  few  men  to  be  seen 
on  board,  and  these  looked  listless.  The  captain  ordered  a  boat  to  be 
lowered,  and  put  out  to  the  ship,  and  in  a  twinkling  our  men  were 
climbing  up  the  sides  of  the  huge,  dismantled  vessel,  and  in  a  short  time 
they  brought  back  several  of  the  officers  and  crew.  The  ship  and  crew 
had  been  batding  with  foul  winds  and  cyclones,  till  all  their  sails  were  ' 
torn  to  tatters,  and  their  masts  twisted  and  broken.  They  had  been 
out  from  India  for  six  months;  they  had  expected  to  be  in  England  ere 
that  time.  They  were  out  of  provisions;  out  of  water;  out  of  canvas; 
out  of  spare  spars;  in  fact,  they  were  out  of  everything  that  was  neces- 
sary. The  poor  fellows  could  not  be  worse  off  and  live.  Some  of 
their  men  were  dying  from  privation.  The  men  who  came  on  board 
our  ship  were,  for  the  time,  well  cared  for;  food  and  water  were  given 
to  them.  Meantime  the  hatches  were  opened,  and  provisions,  water, 
spirits,  canvas,  sails  and  spars  for  masts,  were  all  sent  on  board  of 
the  unfortunate  ship.  Everything  that  humanity  could  prompt  was 
done  for  the  poor,  sick  men.  We  kept  close  to  her  all  that  day,  and 
our  sailors  were  going  back  and  forth,  helping  and  cheering  their  fel- 
low men  with  commendable  alacrity,  showing  that  their  hearts  were  in 
the  work.  Our  ship  had  suddenly  been  roused  from  its  usual  Sunday 
quiet,  to  one  of  stir  and  commotion.  Our  sympathies  were  all  excited 
for  these  poor,  starving  men;  our  tears  rained  plenteously  at  the  recital 
of  their  hardships.  The  same  winds  that  were  carrying  us  along  toward 
our  desired  haven  so  delightfully,  were  adverse  to  these  men,  destroy- 
ing hope  and  life.  A  few  more  days,  and  none  would  have  been  left 
to  tell  of  their  sufferings.  It  is  a  very  exciting  thing  to  meet  a  ship  out 
in  mid-ocean,  and  speak  to  those  on  board;  but  if  the  ship  is  disabled, 
and  the  crew  in  distress,  excitement  runs  high,  and  knows  no  bounds. 
Those  poor  fellows  bade  farewell,  shaking  hands  with  deep  gratitude, 
felt  and  spoken. 

"Hands  were  linked,  and  answering  eyes, 
With  kindly  meaning  shone  ; 

The  brief  and  passing  sympathies 
Like  leaves  together  blown. 

Then  proudly,  freely  on  their  way, 
The  parting  vessels  bore  ; 

In  calm  or  storm,  by  rock  or  bay, 
To  meet,  Oh,  never  more." 

"Land  ho!"   was  once  more  heard  from  the  lookout.      "Where? 
where?"  was  asked  by  one  and  another,  all  along  from  stem  to  stern. 


FAREWELL  TO  SCOTLAND.  77 

Of  course,  none  but  the  practiced  eye  of  the  sailor  could  discern  land, 
at  the  distance  we  were  from  it.  But  in  time,  a  dark  line  along  the 
horizon  made  itself  seen.  This  was  Australia.  This  was  the  Great 
South  Land!  How  my  heart  fluttered  when  first  I  saAv  that  dark  line; 
but  why  it  fluttered,  I  could  not  tell.  The  line  broadened  into  a  belt, 
and  day  after  day  it  grew  more  distinct.  How  many  anxious  hearts 
were  on  board  our  ship.  Our  good  captain  was  not  the  least  of  the 
many  who  were  anxious.  Australia  lies  between  io°  and  45°  South 
latitude,  and  130°  and  154°  East  longitude.  The  mainland  of  Aus- 
tralia, in  its  greatest  breadth,  between  Shark's  Bay  on  the  west,  to 
Sandy  Cape,  on  the  eastern  shore,  is  2,400  miles;  and  from  Cape 
York,  on  the  north,  to  Cape  Otway,  on  the  south,  1,700  miles.  The 
Dutch  gave  It  the  name  of  "New  Holland,"  and  the  English  named  it 
"Austral- Asia,"  including  the  numerous  islands^adjacent  in  the  Pacific 
and  Indian  Oceans.  Australia  is  the  fifth  great  division  of  the  Globe. 
The  French  applied  to  it  the  name  "Oceanica,"  and  gave  it  a  still 
greater  and  wider  range.  The  Germans  changed  "Terra  Australis," 
the  Latin  term  used  by  old  geographers  to  Australia,  and  this  name  is 
now  almost  universally  used  as  the  designation  of  the  mainland  and 
the  adjacent  islands.  Australia  is  the  Great  South  Land  of  the  ancients. 
Strabo,  fifty  years  before  Christ,  mentioned  a  great  island,  which  lay 
about  twenty  days'  sail  southeast  of  India.  Pomponious  Mela  also 
mentioned  a  great  South  Land,  but  did  not  know  whether  it  was  an 
island  or  the  beginning  of  another  continent.  Pliny,  in  A.  D.  77  re- 
fers to  a  great  island  to  the  south  of  the  equator,  the  central  parts  of 
which  were  said  to  be  occupied  by  an  inland  sea.  The  Great  South 
Land  has  been  an  object  of  deep  interest  to  navigators,  geographers 
and  explorers,  of  ancient  as  well  as  of  modern  times.  But  all  through 
the  night  of  the  Dark  Ages  all  enterprize  seemed  to  be  abandoned. 
The  Great  South  Land  was  not  unknown  to  Marco  Polo.  From  the 
time  Bartholomew  Diaz  discovered  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  the  Port- 
uguese, the  Dutch,  the  Spaniards  and  the  English  were  all  interested 
in  solving  the  mystery  of  the  great  unknown  South  Land.  The  Dutch 
were  the  first  to  solve  it,  and  they  took  great  pains  to  guard  their  rich 
prize.  They  adopted  stringent  measures  to  prevent  all  other  nations 
from  gaining  a  knowledge  of  its  character  and  resources,  or  forming 
settlements  on  its  shores. 

Among  the  methods  adopted  to  assert  and  assure  their  title  to  the 
whole  country,  an  immense  chart  of  its  coasts  was  engraved  or  cut  in 
the  pavement  of  the  new  Stadt  House,  or  Town  Hall,  of  Amsterdam; 


78  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

and  metal  plates,  containing  suitable  inscriptions,  were  ordered  to  be 
fastened  to  rocks,  and  hung  upon  trees,  by  the  Dutch  navigators, 
wherever  they  landed  on  the  shores  of  their  New  Holland — the  name 
they  gave  to  it  in  1664.  One  of  these  plates  was  found  on  Dick 
Hartog's  Island,  on  the  western  coast,  nearly  two  hundred  years  after 
it  had  been  placed  there.  Here  is  a  translation  of  the  inscription  by 
Monsieur  Perin:  "The  twenty-fifth  of  October  the  ship  Endraghi,  of 
Amsterdam,  touched  here.  The  chief  owner,  Gillis  Micbais  Van 
Luck;  the  [captain,  Dick  Hartogs,  of  Amsterdam.  He  sailed  the 
twenty-seventh  of  same  month  for  Bantam.  The  supercargo  was 
Janstius;  the  master,  Peter  Ecoores  Van  Bu.,  the  year,  16 16." 

The  great  pains  taken  by  the  Dutch  to  secure  undisputed  possession 
of  New  Holland  had  an  effect  different  from  what  was  intended.  The 
attention  of  the  world  was  drawn  toward  the  mysterious  land.  The 
English  navigators,  especially,  were  attracted  toward  a  land  which  was 
believed  to  be  rich  in  proportion  to  the  jealousy  by  which  it  was 
guarded.  In  1768,  Captain  James  Cook  was  chosen  to  command  an 
exploring  expedition  into  the  Pacific.  The  principal  object  was  to 
prove  the  existence  of  a  southern  continent.  The  expedition  intrusted 
to  Captain  Cook  sailed  from  Plymouth  on  the  twenty-sixth  of  August, 
1768,  in  the  Endeavor.  Mr.,  afterward  Sir,  Joseph  Banks  and  Dr. 
Solander  accompanied  him.  Captain  Cook  did  not  believe  in  the  ex- 
istence of  a  southern  continent,  and  in  the  account  of  his  voyage  he 
enters  into  arguments  to  prove  that  everybody  was  mistaken  about  this 
land.  Until  within  a  few  days  of  sighting  the  Great  South  Land,  Cook 
did  not  believe  in  its  existence,  much  as  had  been  written  and  spoken 
about  it.  On  the  eighteenth  of  April,  1770,  he  discovered  land  near  the 
south  of  the  continent.  The  first  point  he  called  Point  Hicks,  after  his 
lieutenant,  who  first  discovered  it.  He  sailed  up  the  East  Coast,  nam- 
ing and  taking  possession  of  all  he  saw,  in  the  name  of  the  English  king. 
When  he  got  as  far  North  as  Botany  Bay  he  entered  it  and  landed  on 
its  shores,  hoisted  the  English  flag,  and,  in  the  name  of  the  English  king, 
took  possession.  He  named  the  bay  which  he  entered  Botany  Bay, 
on  account  of  the  many  and  new  specimens  of  plants  found  around  its 
shores  by  Sir  Joseph  Banks  and  Dr.  Solander,  both  botanists  of  the 
expedition.  The  south  side  of  the  entrance  to  this  famous  bay  was 
named  Cape  Solander,  after  Dr.  Solander;  and  the  north  side  Cape 
Banks,  after  Sir  Joseph  Banks.  The  Endeavor  sailed  from  Botany  Bay 
and  a  few  miles  to  the  north,  a  sailor,  named  Jackson,  who  was  on  the 
lookout,  descried  an  opening  which  he  thought  was  a  bay  or  harbor,  in 


FAREWELL  TO  SCOTLAND.  79 

which  might  be  a  good  anchorage.  Captain  Cook  named  this,  as  he  sup- 
posed it  an  unimportant  opening,  Port  Jackson,  after  the  man  who  discov- 
ered it.  He  did  not  think  it  worth  the  trouble  to  enter  what  he  thought 
could  only  shelter  a  boat.  In  this,  as  in  the  matter  of  the  Great  South 
Land,  the  great  navigator  was  entirely  mistaken.  But  great  men  as  well 
as  small  men  are  liable  to  mistakes.  When  Cook  was  about  to  leave  the 
eastern  coast  of  New  Holland,  he  once  more  hoisted  the  English  colors 
and  took  possession  of  the  eastern  coast  in  the  right  of  his  Majesty 
King  George  HI.,  of  England,  by  the  name  of  New  South  Wales,  with 
all  the  bays,  inlets,  harbors,  rivers  and  islands  situated  upon  it,  and  fired 
three  volleys  of  small  arms,  which  were  answered  from  the  ship. 

Our  good  ship,  the  Portland,  was  steadily  pursuing  her  course  with 
fair  winds.  My  friend,  Neptune,  told  me  that  we  had  a  dangerous 
strait  to  pass  through,  full  of  rocks,  sunken  and  seen;  but  he  hoped 
we  should  steer  clear  of  all  in  safety.  The  ship,  always  in  good 
order,  was  being  again  overhauled,  and  tackling,  cordage  and  all  the 
et  cffiteras  of  a  ship's  garniture,  were  placed  so  as  to  be  within  reach 
at  any  moment,  in  case  of  an  emergency.  It  required  skillful  naviga- 
tion in  these  seas.  But  our  shipmaster,  or  captain  as  we  called  him, 
was  cautious,  though  brave,  and  I  had  no  fears.  Winds  and  waves 
were  propitious,  and  we  needed  not  to  slacken  sail,  or  alter  our  course. 
We  steered  through  the  strait  bravely.  We  were  all  in  high  glee.  We 
were  nearing  the  end  of  our  long,  but  pleasant  and  prosperous  voy- 
age. Oh,  how  much  we  had  to  be  thankful  for!  Our  kind,  heavenly 
Father  had  certainly  kept  us  under  His  protecting  care. 

Mr.  Jefferson,  one  of  our  passengers,  announced  that  he  would  give 
a  lecture  on  "Convicts,"  between  decks,  on  a  certain  evening.  Seats 
were  arranged  so  as  to  form  a  gallery  for  the  occasion.  We  were  all 
on  the  quivive  to  find  out  what  he  could,  or  would,  say  on  his  singular 
subject.  I  never  heard  what  he  did  say.  I  was  on  one  of  the  high 
seats.  The  space  between  decks  was  crowded;  the  air  was  stifling.  The 
lecturer  began  his  lecture,  and  to  my  eyes  the  lamps  began  to  dance 
in  the  most  singular  manner,  and  the  people's  heads  to  rise  far  above 
their  shoulders;  then  all  was  dark.  I  had  fainted.  When  I  opened 
my  eyes,  I  was  stretched  on  a  bench  at  the  foot  of  the  stairway.  Mrs. 
Holmes,  cousin  Tom,  Neptune  and  two  or  three  others  were  standing 
by  me,  bathing  my  face  and  hands,  and  holding  salts  to  my  nostrils. 
I  was  ashamed  of  fainting  and  giving  trouble.  I  not  only  lost  the 
lecture  myself,  but  caused  others  to  lose  it  also.  Cousin  Tom  spoke 
out,  and  said : 


8o  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

f 

"O,  never  mind  the  lecture;  I  would  rather  lose  the  lecture  than 
lose  you." 

I  told  him  laughingly,  that  I  was  not  lost,  nor  was  I  ill;  I  had  only 
fainted,  from  the  oppressive  heat,  and  stiflmg  air  of  the  crowded  cabin. 

We  doubled  Cape  Howe,  and  saw  what  Captain  Cook  called  the 
Ram's  Head.  We  passed  the  various  bays  and  capes  named  by  Cap- 
tain Cook.  The  coast  was  diversified  by  hills  and  valleys,  bold  bluffs 
and  pointed  capes,  ridges  and  plains.  We  continued  our  sailing  north 
and  a  little  east,  till  we  came  to  what  our  captain  thought  were  Port 
Jackson  Heads,  or  the  sea  gates  into  the  harbor.  The  captain  had 
lost  his  reckoning,  and  discovered,  when  too  late  to  rectify  his  mis- 
take, that  he  was  making  for  the  wrong  inlet. 

* '  Breakers  ahead !  " 

What  consternation  took  hold  of  captain  and  crew,  when  they  found 
themselves  running  full  tilt  against  the  rocks,  with  sails  spread  and  well 
filled,  a  stiff  breeze  carrying  us  into  the  very  jaws  of  death.  The 
sails  were  reefed  and  double-reefed  with  lightning  speed.  "Bout 
ship"  was  of  no  avail.  We  had  a  head  wind  and  a  lee  shore,  and 
no  sea  room.  The  danger  was  imminent.  What  was  to  be  done  ? 
Nothing  more  could  be  done  but  wait.  Our  fate  was  in  the  hands  of 
God.  Nothing  to  a  sailor,  short  of  actual  ship-wreck,  is  half  so  appall- 
ing as  a  head  wind  and  a  lee  shore.  A  ship-wrecked  sailor  has  lost 
his  hope,  when  he  has  lost  his  ship ;  but  here  he  looks  on  hoping  in 
fearful  suspense. 

I  was  sitting  on  my  cabin  floor,  reading  some  of  my  Savior's  prom- 
ises to  those  who  love  and  try  to  serve  him.  Thus  occupied,  Mr.  Jef- 
ferson came  down  to  me  and  said,  in  a  grave  and  solemn  tone : 

"Miss  Arbuckle,  prepare  to  meet  your  God.  In  a  few  minutes,  we 
shall  all  be  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea." 

I  asked  him  what  he  meant.     He  said : 

"We  are  doomed,  and  must  all  go  to  the  bottom,  so  prepare." 

I  said  I  had  not  thought  of  danger,  but  if  there  be  any,  I  must  see 

it  for  myself     Mr.  J tried  to  persuade  me  not  to  go  on  deck;  but 

this  I  wished  to  do,  and  I  did  go  up  on  deck  very  quietly  after  I  had 
laid  down  my  book.  When  I  reached  the  deck,  never  shall  I  forget 
what  I  saw  and  felt.  A  thrill  of  horror  passed  through  my  frame.  The 
first  object  that  met  my  gaze  was  a  huge  perpendicular  cliif,  standing 
out  in  fearful,  frowning  majesty,  bidding  defiance  to  the  proud  waves 
that  lashed  its  base.  It  was  a  grand  sight.  But  when  I  turned  my 
eyes  on  the  several  groups  on  deck,  I  was  startled.    On  the  poop  stood 


FAREWELL   TO    SCOTLAND.  8l 

the  brave,  good  captain,  his  arms  folded  over  his  breast,  his  face  pallid, 
anxiety  written  on  his  brov,',  his  nostrils  distended,  his  lips  compressed, 
and  like  a  marble  statue,  he  was  motionless.  A  litde  below  him 
stood  his  first  officer,  a  man  of  iron  nerve,  with  his  eyes  almost  starting 
from  their  sockets,  his  arms  a-kimbo,  and  intently  gazing  at  the  object 
that  was  riveting  all  eyes.  The  crew  were  standing  here  and  there  in 
groups,  and  in  different  attitudes,  but  all  had  that  look  of  dismay  that  ap- 
palled me.  The  passengers  were  standing  in  silent  groups,  some  looking 
at  the  countenances  of  their  fellows,  only  to  see  their  own  fears  painted 
there.  I  looked  toward  the  frowning  cliff,  with  the  huge  breakers  dash- 
ing v,-ith  sullen  roar  at  its  base,  and  saw  our  peril.  We  were  drifting, 
under  bare  poles,  broadside  toward  the  fatal  rock.  The  bay,  with  its 
narrow  inlet,  was  before  us,  into  which  we  desired  to  go,  but  hope  and 
fear  were  in  the  balance,  and  the  suspense  was  awful.  To  those  only 
who  have  waited  the  approach  of  death  in  all  its  terrors,  in  fearful  sus- 
pense, as  the  moment  of  their  fate  was  approaching,  and  each  looking 
at  the  other  in  blank  despair;  to  those  only  can  a  picture,  such  as  I  saw 
that  morning,  be  realized.  No  human  hand  could  save  us.  But  many  a 
silent  prayer  went  up  from  that  deck  to  Him  who  alone  was  able  to  help 
in  this  hour  of  extremity.  I  had  not  moved  from  the  head  of  the  stair- 
way, where*  my  steps  were  arrested  when  I  first  came  up.  I  was  awe- 
stricken  at  all  I  saw,  but  I  felt  that  I  was  in  God's  hand,  and  for  myself 
I  had  no  fear.  Nearer  to  the  breakers.  The  spray  leaped  over  our  ship's 
side  and  wet  our  decks.  Nearer  we  are  being  drawn  to  the  fatal  cliff. 
One  moment  more,  and  we  are  gone.  A  great  swell  of  the  sea  came 
moving  on;  this  would  decide  our  fate.  On  it  came  like  a  moving 
mountain,  and  lifted  us  high  up.  A  cry  arose  as  we  were  being  dashed 
against  that  bold,  black  and  frowning  headland.  No;  we  are  carried 
on  the  bosom  of  that  friendly  wave,  right  past  the  frowning  face  of  Cape 
Solander,  into  the  far-famed  Botany  Bay. 

"Thank  God,  we  are  saved!"  burst  from  the  captain,  as  his  mus- 
cles relaxed.  "I  should  not  have  liked  to  go  down  with  so  many 
precious  souls  on  board,  so  near  the  end  of  our  voyage." 

Our  first  mate,  with  deep-toned  voice  and  lithe  limb,  was  here,  and 
there,  and  everywhere,  giving  orders,  which  fell  on  willing  ears,  and 
the  cheerful  "Aye,  aye,  sir,"  rang  all  over  the  ship.  The  scene  was 
changed.  As  soon  as  our  ship  was  carried  along-side  the  surf,  parallel 
with  the  face  of  the  cliff  into  smoother  water,  she  was  shaken  to  her 
center;  but  then  she  shook  life  into  all  on  board  of  her,  and  all  was 
animation  and  stir.  What  a  shaking  of  hands,  and  ejaculations  of 
6 


82  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

thanks  to  God,  for  our  unexpected  deliverance.  We  were  on  the  very- 
verge  of  eternity.  Another  moment,  and  we  should  have  been  dashed 
to  pieces,  and  have  perished  all.  But  our  heavenly  Father  had  us  in 
his  guardian  care.  He  saved  us  from  a  watery  grave,  and,  perhaps, 
from  worse  than  a  watery  grave.  Hungry  sharks,  in  shoal,  were  hov- 
ering round,  waiting  for  a  rich  repast.  This  coast  teems  with  these 
voracious  monsters.  We  are  safe  inside.  Our  anchor  is  cast;  but 
where  ? 

"In  Botany  Bay!"  I  exclaimed,  when  I  heard  the  name  first. 
Where  all  the  convicts  from  Great  Britain  have  been  sent  for  many 
years. 

Yes.  Here  the  great  navigator  landed  nearly  seventy  years  ago. 
Here  landed  the  first  fleet  of  eleven  ships,  freighted  with  about  one 
thousand  persons,  of  whom  one-third  were  women.  Nearly  four-fifths 
of  them  were  prisoners,  banished  from  their  native  land,  for  crimes  which 
they  had  committed.  The  remainder  of  the  colonists  were  chiefly  per- 
sons necessary  to  guard  and  govern  the  community.  Captain  Arthur 
Philip  was  the  first  Governor  of  the  Colony.  Botany  Bay  is  a  large 
sheet  of  water  with  a  low  sandy  beach.  Brush-wood  and  majestic  gum 
trees  fill  up  the  back  ground.  Few  places  in  Australia  have  the  his- 
torical interest  that  this  Bay  has,  and  yet  no  monument  of  any  preten- 
sions has  been  raised  to  commemorate  the  landing  of  its  discoverer. 
To  be  sure,  there  is  a  tablet  fastened  to  a  rock,  about  fifteen  feet  above 
high  water  mark,  which  has  this  inscription:  "A.  D.  M.  D.  C.  C.  L. 
X.  X.  (1770).  Under  the  auspices  of  British  Science,  these  shores 
were  discovered  by  James  Cook  and  Joseph  Banks,  the  Columbus  and 
Meecenas  of  their  time.  This  spot  once  saw  them  ardent  in  the  pursuit 
of  knowledge.  Now,  to  their  memory  this  tablet  is  inscribed,  in  the 
first  year  of  the  Philosophical  Society  of  Australia.  Sir  Thomas  Bris- 
bane, K.  C.  B.  and  F.  R.  S.,  and  corresponding  member  of  the  In- 
stitute of  France,  President." 

As  soon  as  we  cast  anchor  the  pilot  came  on  board,  but  we  did  not 
now  need  his  assistance.  When  we  did  need  his  help,  he  was  un- 
able to  render  it.  No  man  could  help  us,  though  the  pilot  saw  us  and 
watched  us  till  we  were  safe  inside;  he  dared  not  venture  to  board  us. 
But  now  he  came  and  brought  with  him  a  youth  of  wondrous  beauty. 
His  raven  locks  waved  gracefully  in  the  wind;  his  expressive  black 
eyes  shone  like  stars;  his  slender,  well-knit  frame,  though  equipped  in 
convicts'  garb,  could  not  but  attract  by  the  easy  grace  of  all  his  move- 
.ments.     Our  passengers  were  greatly  interested  in  this  beautiful  youth. 


FAREWELL  TO  SCOTLAND.  83. 

"^\^lo  and  what  is  he?"  was  asked  by  many,  and  the  answer  came 
whispering  along : 

"  He  is  a  convict,  but  the  son  of  a  lord,  who  was  banished  for  some 
misdemeanor." 

My  heart  felt  sad  for  the  poor  lad.  His  youth,  his  beauty,  his  de- 
graded position,  all  made  him  an  object  of  thrilling  interest  to  me.  I 
wished  he  was  at  home  with  his  mother,  if  he  had  one.  I  could  not 
believe  so  innocent-looking  a  creature  could  be  guilty  of  any  crime 
worthy  so  hard  a  fate  as  his.     Poor  boy! 

Our  doctor  went  ashore  to  visit  a  sick  child  of  the  pilot.  I  wished 
to  go  ashore,  too,  but  was  not  allowed  to  go,  as  the  doctor  was  not 
coming  back  to  the  ship,  but  would  go  to  Sydney  overland  (a  distance 
of  nine  miles),  and  he  would  rejoin  us  when  we  reached  Sydney.  As 
night,  with  ebon  wing  brooded  over  the  deep,  and  gathered  us  under 
her,  we  retired  early,  after  the  great  excitement  of  a  most  memorable 
day.  Before  sunrise  all  were  astir,  as  the  foul  wind  had  changed  to 
fair,  and  we  were  about  to  weigh  anchor  and  move  on.  The  sails 
were  set,  and  we  moved  out  of  the  bay  slowly,  but  grandly.  How 
very  different  were  our  feelings  now  to  what  they  had  been  eighteen 
hours  before.  As  we  passed  the  cliff  or  headland  that  had  almost 
proved  fatal  to  us,  we  shuddered  at  the  narrow  escape  we  had  made. 
We  had  a  fine,  favorable  breeze,  and  our  ship  had  on  what  the  sailors 
said  was  "her  go-ashore  dress."  She  had  been  freshly  painted.  The 
great  guns  and  their  carriages,  and  the  ratlins,  were  all  freshened  up 
with  a  coat  of  pitch,  and  they  shone  as  bright  in  their  blackness  as  pos- 
sible; and  the  decks,  in  contrast,  shone  as  bright  as  they  could  in  their 
whiten^gs.  Our  sailors,  after  their  long  voyage,  took  great  pride  in 
making  their  ship  look  well,  and  she  did  credit  to  their  pride. 


CHAPTER  III. 

LIFE  AND  SUFFERINGS  IN  NEW  SOUTH  WALES. 

As  we  entered  the  narrow  opening,  or  sea-gate,  between  two  huge 
headlands  that  led  to  the  beautiful,  capacious  and  commodious  har- 
bor of  Sydney,  or,  as  Captain  Cook  named  it,  Port  Jackson,  many 
objects  of  beauty  met  the  eye, — islands,  bays,  promontories,  and 
various  scenes  of  loveliness.  At  any  other  time  I  would  have  been 
in  ecstacies  at  sight  of  so  much  that  could  charm  the  eye.  But, 
as  we  sailed  slowly  up  toward  the  city,  my  mind  was  completely 
absorbed  with  somber  thoughts  that  were  unwelcome  intruders.  The 
anchor  was  let  go  near  the  city.  Ships  in  great  numbers  were  here 
from  all  parts  of  the  world,  and  there  was  room  for  many  more. 
Captain  Cook's  boat  must  have  been  a  big  one  to  have  taken  up  all 
the  room  of  this  spacious  harbor.  I  was  now  in  the  most  beautiful 
harbor  in  the  world,  but  could  not  see  its  beauty  at  the  time.  My 
heart  ached.  Farewells  spoken  at  any  time  make  me  sad;  but  here 
were  these  who  had  been  with  me  when  I  parted  from  my  mother. 
They  were  going  back  and  I  was  to  be  left  in  a  foreign  land — a  stran- 
ger among  strangers.  They  were  the  connecting-link  between  me  and 
home.  I  feared  to  part  with  them;  but  it  must  be.  I  had  become 
attached  to  the  captain ;  he  had  ever  been  kind  to  me,  and  my  especial 

friends,  cousin  Tom  Arbuckle  and  Neptune  (Mr.  G );  the  sailors 

also  had  a  share  of  my  affections.  They  had  all  been  kind  and  gen- 
tlemanly in  their  manner  to  me;  and  even  Stalker,  our  stern  mate,  and 
myself  were  on  the  best  of  terms.  I  never  caught  him  napping  since 
the  night  I  was  hunting  for  the  doctor. 

I  felt  a  great  sinking  of  heart  when  I  thought  of  all  these  going  back 
home  and  leaving  me  alone.  What  could  be  more  distressing  to  one 
of  weak  mind,  or  one  who  had  no  end  or  aim  in  view.  In  this  my 
hour  of  weakness  and  fear  I  prayed  to  my  Father  who  is  in  heaven,  to 
be  my  Friend,  my  Guide,  my  Protector.  I  knew  He  was  all  and 
everything  to  me  that  I  needed,  but  I  felt  my  courage  fail,  sometimes, 
when  I  thought  of  the  wide  unknown  that  lay  before  me,  and  my  own 
inexperience.     At  this  time,  how  precious  were  God's  promises!     "I 

(84) 


LIFE  AND  SUFFERINGS  IN  NEW  SOUTH  WALES.  85 

will  come  near  to  them  in  judgment  that  oppress  the  widow  or  the 
fatherless,  and  that  turn  aside  the  stranger  from  his  right,  and  fear  not 
me,  saith  the  Lord."  After  reading  this  I  felt  so  confident  that  God 
would  take  care  of  me,  that  I  had  no  personal  fear.  I  thought  of  the 
high,  and,  as  I  felt,  holy  motive,  that  severed  the  ties  of  home,  and  I 
felt  assured  that  whatever  my  lot  in  life  might  be,  or  wherever  it  might 
be  cast,  if  I  did  my  duty  God  would  be  with  me,  to  strengthen,  pro- 
tect and  uphold  me. 

The  fascinations  of  the  world,  with  its  trials  and  temptations,  were 
in  array  against  my  innocence,  ignorance  and  youth.  The  warfare 
was  unequal;  but  I  read  in  my  precious  Bible  that  "though  the  Lord 
be  high,  yet  hath  he  respect  to  the  lowly;"  "Like  as  a  father  pitieth 
his  children,  so  the  Lord  pitieth  them  that  fear  him." 

What  a  precious  book  was  the  Bible  to  me  in  those  days  (it  is  prec- 
ious now).  It  taught  me  how  to  pray,  what  to  pray  for,  and  to  believe 
God's  promises,  which  I  did  most  firmly.  Surely  God  made  his  strength 
perfect  in  my  weakness.  The  doctor  came  from  Botany  Bay,  and 
sought  me  out  as  soon  as  he  came  on  board.  He  gave  a  miserable  ac- 
count of  the  colony  and  the  colonists,  most  discouraging  and  sickening. 
But  my  mind  was  well  fortified,  so  I  did  not  feel  so  much  as  I  might 
have  done  thirty-six  hours  before,  when  he  left  us  at  Botany  Bay.  He 
painted  the  picture  in  the  darkest,  most  doleful  colors  imaginable. 

"Sydney  is  steeped  in  crime;  the  people  deluged  in  drunkenness  and 
vice  of  all  sorts,"  said  the  doctor,  in  quite  a  sad  tone. 

"Intemperance,  like  a  raging  flood, 

Is  sweeping  o'er  the  land, 
Its  dire  effects  in  tears  and  blood. 

Are  traced  on  every  hand. 
It  still  flows  on,  and  bears  away 

Ten  thousands  to  their  doom; 
Who  shall  the  mighty  torrent  stay, 

And  disappoint^he  tomb." 

A  famous  day  in  the  annals  of  crime  was  this  day,  in  which  we  an- 
chored in  Port  Jackson.  A  fearful  tragedy  was  being  enacted  in  the 
city  about  the  time  we  were  throwing  out  our  anchor.  Eight  young 
men  were  thrust  out  of  this  world  into  eternity  from  the  gallows. 
These  men  had  made  a  (juarrel  with  the  blacks  at  the  Miall  Creek,  and 
had  killed  twenty-eight  of  them;  for  which  barbarous  crime  they  did 
not  long  escape  the  fearful  doom  that  befell  them.  They  hung  all  day 
for  their  own  crimes,  and  as  a  warning  for  others  to  beware  of  com- 


86  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

mitting  such  outrages.  Our  good  doctor  told  me  that  the  upper  class 
of  society  was,  as  a  rule,  vain,  jealous,  illiterate  and  extravagant; 
nor  did  the  lower  classes  present  a  more  agreeable  picture. 

I  was  told  that  drunkenness  was  not  confined  to  the  poor  in  cities,  or 
to  the  convicts,  but  that  all,  in  farm-houses  and  shepherds'  huts,  were 
alike  given  to  the  intoxicating  poison.  Imagine  a  farm-house,  far  away 
from  any  other,  and  out  of  the  way  of  temptation,  yet  every  soul  drunk 
before  breakfast — male  and  female.     Oh,  how  shocking! 

"Almighty  God  !  no  hand  but  Thine 

Can  check  this  flowing  tide; 
Stretch  forth  Thine  arm  of  power  Divine, 

And  bid  the  flood  subside  ; 
Dry  up  the  source  from  whence  it  flows — 

Destroy  its  fountain-head — 
That  dire  intemperance  and  its  woes 

No  more  the  earth  o'erspread." 

Dr.  McF professed  to  take  a  deep  interest  in  me,  and  I  had 

great  faith  in  him.  He  was  a  good  man,  but  the  account  he  gave  me 
of  the  country  that  I  was  about  to  adopt  as  my  own  was  not  encour- 
aging, as  he,  in  earnest  tones,  recited  the  effects  that  vice  had  upon 
all  the  people.  I  knew  not  what  to  do.  Go  back?  No.  I  had 
started  on  the  voyage  of  life  and  must  not  look  back,  or  go  back.  I 
must  go  onward,  and  look  upward  for  that  encouragement  that  seemed 
denied  to  me  here  below.  I  looked  to  God  to  direct  my  path.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Holmes  went  ashore  and  left  me  in  the  doctor's  care.  My 
friends  had  business  on  shore  connected  with  the  land  they  had  pur- 
chased, and  unexpectedly  had  to  go  into  the  country,  but  they  left  me 
in  safe-keeping  till  they  returned.  They  wrote  to  the  doctor  and  me 
saying  that  they  were  detained  longer  than  they  had  expected;  but  the 
doctor  was  to  see  to  me  till  they  could  come  or  send  for  me. 

This  procedure  did  not  tend  to  reassure  me.  Though  I  believed  and 
trusted  God,  and  leaned  upon  hiA,  yet  I  felt  hope  and  fear  take  pos- 
session of  my  heart  alternately.  My  temples  throbbed  with  an  anxiety 
that  was  new  to  me,  though  not  so  pleasant  as  other  new  things  had 
been.  I  felt  cut  off  from  all  my  past  life,  and  the  future  was  veiled 
before  me. 

Traveling,  say  what  we  will,  is  one  of  the  saddest  pleasures  in  life. 
If  you  ever  feel  at  home  or  at  ease  in  a  place,  it  is  because  you  have 
found  friends  and  begun  to  make  your  home.  My  four  months  on 
board  the  ship  made  me  have  a  kind  of  home  feeling  for  it.    My  pleas- 


LIFE  AND  SUFFERINGS  IN  NEW  SOUTH  WALES.  87 

ant  surroundings  and  kind  friends  tended  to  bring  this  result.  Now  I 
was  about  to  traverse  a  strange  land,  to  hear  language  strange  to  me, 
to  look  on  faces  unconnected  with  my  past  or  my  future.  This  was 
solitude  without  repose  or  dignity.  To  arrive  where  no  one  meets  you 
is  painful  to  a  sensitive  nature.  To  be  an  object  of  curiosity  is  disa- 
greeable to  the  shrinking  and  timid.  Nothing  but  strength  from  a  kind 
heavenly  Father  can  give  support  under  such  circumstances. 

Mr.    C ,    Comptroller   of  Customs,    was   a   friend   of  Doctor 

McF ,  and  he  came  on  board  to  see  him.     I  was  introduced  to 

this  gentleman,  and  the  doctor  asked  me  if  I  would  like  to  take  up  my 
abode  with  his  family  till  I  was  sent  for.  Of  course,  I  was  expected 
to  say  yes.  I  had  no  choice.  I  could  only  bow  my  head,  and  ac- 
quiesce in  their  decision.      Mr.  C said  he  would  come  for  me  in 

the  morning,  and  so  took  his  leave  for  the  present. 

The  Portland  was  to  be  in  the  harbor  for  two  or  three  months,  and 
the  captain  was  exceedingly  accommodating.  He  told  those  passen- 
gers who  had  to  go  to  the  country,  not  to  hurry  out  of  the  ship  till  it 
was  quite  convenient  for  them  to  go;  -so  his  fam.ily  did  not  all  leave  him 
at  once.  The  third  evening  after  our  arrival  in  port,  was  to  be 
my  last  night  on  board.  We  had  a  party  on  board,  a  kind  of 
farewell  party,  and  we  all  enjoyed  ourselves  as  well  as  we  could 
under  the  circumstances.  I  had  all  my  things  packed  up,  ready  to  go 
ashore  next  morning,  and  was  at  my  usual  post,  looking  over  the  ship's 
side,  when  my  attention  was  drawn  to  an  eight-oared  galley  skimming 
the  surface  of  the  water,  as  if  nothing  could  impede  its  progress,  and 
making  straight  for  our  ship.  The  oarsmen  were  all  dressed  in 
pure  white,  with  blue  stripes  down  the  sides  of  their  pants,  with  cuffs 
and  collars  of  the  same  color  ornamenting  their  jackets,  and  blue  caps 
on  their  heads.  The  galley  came  alongside,  and  I  saw  Mr.  C sit- 
ting in  the  stern.  He  called  for  me,  and  my  heart  played  pit-a-pat  as 
I  got  ready  to  leave  the  good  ship  that  brought  me  so  far,  and  all  those 
who.belonged  to  her,  who  had  been  kind  to  me.  All  my  friends  clus- 
tered round  me  to  say  good-bye,  and  I  was  consigned  to  the  care  of 

Mr.  C for  the  time-being.     The  usual  manner  of  getting  out  of 

the  ship  into  a  boat  was  by  going  down  the  steps  placed  on  the  side  of 
the  ship.  My  turnout  was  somewhat  different.  The  captain  had  the 
chair  in  readiness  for  me.  This  was  no  other  than  a  large  cask,  fash- 
ioned into  an  arm-chair,  with  back  and  sides.  About  one-third  of  the 
cask  was  left  with  the  bottom  to  put  your  feet  and  skirts  in.  It  was 
cushioned  inside,  and  painted  outside.     I  was  handed  into  this  nice 


50  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE, 

chair  by  cousin  Tom  and  Neptune,  who  threw  the  Union  Jack,  the  flag 
of  England,  over  my  lap,  and  tucked  me  in.  The  captain  stood  by, 
and,  when  all  was  ready,  gave  the  signal  to  lower  me  over  the  ship's 
side.  Away  I  went,  not  over  and  down,  but  up.  I  was  hoig!ted  up, 
up  to  the  yard  arm,  and  hung  suspended,  while  those  below  gave  three 
cheers  as  a  parting  salute.  I  was  then  lowered  into  the  galley,  where 
Mr.  C received  me,  saying: 

"You  must  have  been  a  favorite." 

The  rope  that  fastened  the  galley  was  loosened,  and  off  we  darted 
like  a  dolphin.  We  navigated^^the  harbor,  amorig  beautiful  islets,  capes 
and  barren  rocks,  for  eight  miles,  when  suddenly  rounding  a  projec- 
tion, we  entered  a  bay.  Its  shores  looked  like  a  crescent-shaped  gar- 
den, with  an  elegant  villa  in  the  center  of  it.     This  was  Waterview 

Bay  and  villa,  the  residence  of  Mr.  C and  family.    I  was  perfectly 

charmed  at  the  varied  beauties  of  the  harbor,  as  we  came  rapidly  along. 
I  felt  a  slight  tremor  as  I  touched  terra  firma^  for  the  first  time  since  I 
left  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  What  sort  of  people  compose  the  house- 
hold of  Mr.  C ?    How  will  they  receive  the  young  stranger?  were 

questions  I  mentally  asked.  As  the  galley  touched  the  jetty,  I  leaped 
upon  the  shore  of  the  Great  South  Land,  in  December,  1838,  sixty- 
eight  years  after  Captain  Cook  landed  at  Botany  Bay,  and  fifty  years 
after  the  first  fleet  of  colonists  and  convicts  arrived  at  the  same  place. 

When  I  was  introduced  to  Mrs.  C ,  I  thought  I  was  in  the  presence 

of  an  earthly  angel.     Miss  Emily  C was  about  my  own  age,  and 

I  thought  I  should  like  her.  They  greeted  me,  and  welcomed  me  very 
cordially.  I  thought  I  should  be  happy  here  for  the  time-being.  How 
my  feelings  fluctuated,  I  was  not  twenty-four  hours  in  the  house,  till 
my  feelings  underwent  a  change,  A  few  more  hours,  and  again  they 
were  revolutionized.  When  shall  I  be  able  to  look  at  things  as  they 
really  are  ?  I  exclaimed,  and  not  let  my  feelings  be  ruffled  and  soothed 
as  things  unpleasant  or  pleasant  transpire.  I  said,  perhaps  when  I  am 
older  and  more  experienced,  I  shall  be  more  philosophic.  I  had  a  new 
cause  of  disturbance  to  my  too  easily  moved  feelings.  In  this  pleasant 
family  there  was  a  sick,  middle-aged  lady.  I  think  she  was  related  to 
the  family.     She  had  left  Ireland  to  follo\i^  the  fortunes  of  her  friends, 

and  as  Mrs.  C was  a  very  delicate  lady,  her  friend  took  the  care 

of  the  household  upon  herself.  Every  one  of  the  family  loved  her; 
spoke  highly  of  her;  would  do  anything  for  her,  and  longed  for  her 
recovery.  I  was  introduced  to  this  sick  lady,  and  sat  by  her  a  long 
time,     I  was  interested  in  all  she  said,     A  few  hours  after  I  left  her 


LIFE  AND  SUFFERINGS  IN  NEW  SOUTH  WALES.  89 

she  died,  and  as  soon  as  the  breath  left  her  body,  the  whole  family  left 
the  house.  Those  whom  she  loved,  and  who  loved  her,  gave  orders 
for  her  immediate  interment.  A  coffin  was  procured,  and  she  was  left 
in  the  hands  of  the  convict  servants,  to  pay  the  last  sad  services  to  this 
valued  family  friend.  Not  one  of  the  family  seemed  to  think  they  had 
any  respect  to  pay,  or  duty  to  perform.  A  few  hours  after  she  had 
breathed  her  last,  she  was  carried  to  her  last  resting  place,  as  I  thought 
in  indecent  haste.  This  event  troubled  me.  I  thought,  were  I  to  die, 
I  should  be  treated  in  like  manner;  not  that  it  would  matter  at  all,  but 
I  thought  the  whole  affair  shockingly  heartless. 

When  the  family  returned,  Mrs.  C asked  why  I  looked  down- 
cast. I  told  her  all  I  felt,  and  she  very  kindly  undertook  to  explain 
what  appeared  to  me  inexplicable.     She  said,  in  the  sweetest  tones : 

* '  My  dear  girl,  you  think  it  cruel  to  bury  the  dead  so  soon  after 
dying,  but  in  this  hot  climate  it  must  be  so,  otherwise,  decomposition 
sets  in  so  quickly.  The  offensive  odor  would  injure  the  living,  and 
could  not  serve  the  dead.  So  we  have  no  choice,  but  to  bury  the  dead 
ought  of  our  sight  as  soon  as  possible.  The  reason  why  the  children 
were  taken  away  was,  that  they  might  not  see  death,  or  be  near  any- 
thing that  would  make  them  sad  or  gloomy." 

I  was  satisfied  with  her  explanation,  but  I  was,  for  a  time,  very 

thoughtful.     I  tried  to  look  at  the  bright  side  of  things,  as  Mrs.  C 

was  exceedingly  pleasant.     Mrs.  C was  an  objecl;  of  deep  interest 

to  me  from  the  first.  She  had  a  fragile,  sylph-like  form,  a  sweet,  pale 
face,  and  a  most  angelic  smile,  and  one  of  the  sweetest  voices  I  ever 
heard.  When  she  was  speaking  to  me,  I  hung  upon  her  words,  and 
they  soothed  my  troubled  thoughts. 

"A  little  word  in  kindness  spoken ;  a  motion  or  a  tear, 
Has  often  healed  the  heart  that's  broken,  and  made  a  friend  sincere." 

Mr.  C ,  his  children  and  servants,  looked  to  Mrs.  C as  a  su- 
perior being,  and  she  well  deserved  their  love;  and  Mr.  C de- 
served such  a  wife.  He  was  one  of  nature's  noblemen.  The  calm 
majesty  of  a  superior  mind  sat  upon  his  brow.  He  left  the  cares  and 
troubles  of  office  behind  in  the  city,  and  came  home  to  receive  a  smiling 
welcome  from  his  family.  Home  joys  were  pleasant  to  him.  The  family 
belonged  to  the  Church  of  England,  and  the  prayers  of  the  Church  were 

read  in  the  morning  by  Mrs.  C ,  and  in  the  evening  by  Mr.  C . 

On  Sunday,  as  there  was  no  church  nearer  than  Sydney,  the  Epis- 
copal service  was  read  and  prayers  said  by  the  head  of  the  house  to  his 


C)o  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

family  and  ten  convict  servants.  I  thought  it  somewhat  strange  that  these 
men  and  women,  all  convicted  of  crimes  in  their  own  country,  and  ban- 
ished to  this  far-off  land,  behaved  so  remarkably  well.  I  pitied  them.  I 
was  told  to  pity  them  but  not  to  talk  to  them,  for  some  of  them  were  very 
bad.  As  yet  I  had  not  seen  anything  of  the  vices  of  the  colonists. 
The  C family  were  high-toned,  religious  people,  and  I  truly  ap- 
preciated my  temporary  home.  Miss  Emily  and  myself  became  great 
friends.  We  walked,  and  talked,  and  studied,  and  bathed,  and  sat  for 
hours  together  in  the  little  water-washed  caves  eating  water-melons.  I 
liked  the  melons;  I  had  never  tasted  them  before.  I  liked  to  sit  in 
these  little  caves,  above  the  reach  of  the  water.  We  had  a  beautiful 
outlook  from  where  we  sat.  All  nature  seemed  so  lovely — I  could  not 
realize  that  man  was  so  vile  as  had  been  represented.  To  be  sure,  I 
had  seen  but  few  persons  since  I  set  foot  on  the  Great  South  Land.  I 
was  called  romantic  because  I  loved  to  walk  in  the  forest — all  the  coun- 
try was  forest,  outside  the  yard  and  garden.  I  listened  to  the  dashing 
waters  on  the  beach,  or  against  the  rocks,  with  gleeful  interest.  I 
heard  music  in  everything,  and  my  elastic  spirits  were  attuned  to  my 
surroundings.  As  Miss  Emily  and  myself  were  eating  melons  one 
day,  in  our  rocky  den,  and  listening  to  the  splashing  waters  at  our 
feet,  and  looking  out  upon  the  bay,  we  saw  a  boat  sweeping  up  to  the 
head  of  the  bay.  My  cousin  Tom  and  Neptune,  and  two  or  three 
other  officers  of  the  ship  had  taken  the  captain's  gig  and  come  round 
to  see  me.  I  was  delighted  to  see  them.  They  said  they  had  come 
to  see  their  "little  pet."  I  had  not  known  that  they  called  me  "pet." 
I  went  out  on  the  bay,  and  a  delightful  sail  I  had  in  the  gig  with  them. 
They  all  seemed  like  brothers,  they  were  so  kind  and  pleasant.  A  few 
of  the  passengers  who  lived  in  the  city  were  invited  to  dine  on  board 
the  Portland.  My  cousin  and  his  friend  came  for  me  to  join  the  party, 
and  it  was  a  very  pleasant  reunion,  before  the  ship  was  all  "turned 
out  of  doors"  to  prepare  for  freight. 

I  found  the  climate  fearfully  hot.     It  was  midsummer  in  December. 

Water  was  very  scarce;  rain  had  not  fallen  for  a  long  time.     Mr.  C 

kept  a  man  doing  nothing  else  but  to  carry  water.  It  had  to  be  brought 
a  distance  of  eight  miles,  through  a  dense  forest,  on  a  small  cart. 
Water  had  to  be  brought  all  this  way  to  cook  and  wash  for  nineteen 
persons,  nine  of  the  family  and  ten  servants,  besides  drink  for  the  ani- 
mals. Breadstuffs,  and  every  kind  of  food,  were  at  almost  famine 
prices  in  Sydney. 

Miss  Emily  and  myself  bathed  in  the  sea  every  day.     We  ducked 


LIFE  AND  SUFFERINGS  IN  NEW  SOUTH  WALES.  pi 

and  dove  and  splashed  till  we  were  tired.  One  day  we  were  enjoy- 
ing this  fun  (the  day  was  fearfully  hot),  and  I  had  no  bathing-cap  on, 
and  my  head  was  exposed  to  the  burning  rays  of  the  sun.  I  did  not 
know  the  danger  I  was  in ;  but  experience  taught  me  a  lesson.  When 
I  came  out  of  the  water  I  shivered  with  cold.  I  was  so  giddy  that  I 
fell  down.  I  could  not  dress  myself.  Miss  Emily  became  alarmed 
and  ran  to  the  house  for  help.  One  of  the  servants  came  down  and 
found  me  lying  on  the  bathing-house  floor,  and  lifted  me  up  and  car- 
ried me  to  the  house  almost  senseless.  Hot  gruel  was  given  to  me  to 
drink,  but  still  I  shivered  and  shook — nothing  could  make  me  warm. 
I  was  placed  before  the  kitchen  fire — the  only  one  in  the  house — but  I 
could  not  get  any  heat.  Everybody  else  was  panting  for  a  breath  of 
cool  air.  The  thermometer  stood  150°  in  the  sun,  but  I  was  cold, 
very  cold,  and  was  carried  cold  and  speechless  to  bed.  Dr.  Nicholson 
(afterward  Sir  Charles  Nicholson)  was  sent  for  from  Sydney.  He  came 
and  pronounced  me  in  a  very  dangerous  condition,  and  strongly  recom- 
mended that  I  should  be  taken  to  the  Sydney  Hospital,  where  I  could 
have  prompt  and  constant  attention.  When  I  heard  the  hospital  named, 
I  said: 

"My  doom  is  fixed;  I  must  die." 

I  had  a  great  horror  of  the  hospital.  There  was  no  choice  for  me 
but  to  say,  "No,"  when  I  was  asked  had  I  any  objections  to  going  to 
the  hospital.  A  bed  was  put  into  the  boat,  and  two  men  carried  me 
in  a  chair  to  the  boat,  and  laid  me  very  tenderly  on  the  bed.  These 
two  and  a  woman  took  me  to  Sydney,  where  a  carriage  was  waiting  on 
the  landing  to  carry  me  to  what  I  thought  was  my  doom.  As  we  sailed 
down  the  harbor  we  passed  the  Portla7id.  I  saw  my  cousin  Tom,  but 
could  not  raise  my  hand  to  wave  my  handkerchief. 

"Farewell,  cousin  Tom!  I  hope  to  meet  you  in  heaven,"  and  we 
passed  on. 

When  the  gloomy  portals  of  the  hospital  were  passed,  and  they  were 
closed  behind  me,  I  felt  as  if  I  were  shut  up  in  a  living  tomb.  It  was 
more  like  a  prison  than  anything  else,  with  its  walls  fiflecn  feet  high, 
and  huge  iron  gates  shut  and  locked  and  bolted,  and  everything  pleas- 
ing to  the  eye  bolted  outside.  What  a  pang  shot  through  my  heart  when 
my  kind  attendant  left  me  in  the  Porter's  Lodge,  and  two  rough-look- 
ing men  came  and  lifted  me  up  in  their  arms  and  carried  me  across  a 
bare  court-yard;  not  a  blade  of  grass  to  refresh  the  eye — nothing  to  be 
seen  but  high  stone  walls  and  iron-grated  windows,  while  the  sun's 
blazing  light  and  scorching  heat,  reflected  from  the  walls,  made  the 


92  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

yard  feel  like  a  furnace.  I  was  carried  up  stairs  and  into  a  ward  lined 
with  little  beds,  on  each  side  of  its  whole  length,  and  on  every  bed  a 
patient.  The  men  who  carried  me  set  me  down  beside  one  o-f  these 
narrow  beds  on  the  floor.  I  could  not  sit,  and  I  lay  down  on  the  floor. 
I  looked  up  and  saw  a  pale-faced  woman  on  the  little  bed  beside  me. 
A  coarse-looking  woman  (I  supposed  that  she  was  a  nurse)  came  to  me 
with  a  small  mattress,  and  rolled  me  upon  it.  I  could  not  help  my- 
self.    Mrs.  C ,  before  I  left  Waterview  Villa,  had  packed  up  some 

clothing  that  she  thought  I  might  need:  a  comfortable  flannel-lined 
dressing-gown,  some  money,  and  a  few  books — all  of  which  were  taken 
from  me  when  I  entered  this  gloomy  abode.  Night,  with  her  sable 
mantle,  covered  the  earth,  and  shut  out  the  last  rays  of  the  sun  from 
this  sick-room.  My  head  and  limbs  ached  fearfully.  I  was  suffering 
mentally  as  much  as  physically,  and  I  was  in  a  perfect  agony  of  ex- 
citement. No  one  came  to  undress  me  or  give  me  a  cup  of  water  to 
moisten  my  parched  lips  and  throat.  Fever  ran  riot  in  my  veins.  I 
wept  sore,  and  sobbed.  I  thought  all  were  asleep  in  the  large,  dark- 
ened room,  and  I  called  out : 

"Oh,  mother!  mother!" 

But  there  was  no  mother  near  to  answer  the  heart's  cry  of  the  sick 
child.    I  felt  a  soft  hand  upon  my  cheek,  and  I  heard  a  tender  voice  ask : 

"Where  is  your  mother,  dear?" 

"Oh,  my  mother  is  in  Scotland,  and  I  am  so  afraid  in  this  dreadful 
place,"  I  answered. 

"Poor  child!"  said  the  sweet  voice;  "your  mother  can  not  hear 
you,  but  God  can  hear  you;  pray  to  Him.    He  will  take  care  of  you." 

"Oh!  I  do  pray  to  Him.     I  have  no  Friend  but  Him." 

"You  are  safe  in  His  friendship.  Trust  Him  always,  and  'He  will 
never  leave  you  or  forsake  you.'"  said  the  trembling  voice.  After  a 
pause,  she  said:   "Poor  dear,  I  shall  not  be  long  here." 

"  Oh,  do  not  go  away  and  leave  me  here  alone,  for  I  think  you  are 
so  good." 

My  heart  went  out  toward  the  poor  sick  woman.  She  had  spoken 
words  of  comfort  to  the  lonely  orphan. 

"But,"  said  she,  "the  I>ord  will  call  me  soon  and  I  must  go." 

"I  hope  you  are  not  going  to  die,"  I  said. 

"I  am  going  to  die,"  she  said,  very  calmly. 

"Oh,  do  not!" 

She  put  her  cold  hand  upon  my  head,  for  I  was  crying. 

**Hush,  dear;  be  good  and  sleep." 


LIFE  AND  SUFFERINGS  IN  NEW  SOUTH  WALES.  93 

I  hushed,  but  could  not  sleep  in  that  great  shadowy  room.  It  was 
not  pitch  dark,  for  then  I  could  have  seen  nothing.  A  dim  lamp  hung 
suspended  at  the  far  end  of  the  room,  which  gave  a  ghastly  appear- 
ance to  everything.  On  every  narrow  bed  lay  a  figure  covered  with  a 
white  sheet.  The  length  of  the  room  and  the  dim  sepulchral  light  in 
the  distance  gave  my  fevered  brain  the  idea  that  every  bed  contained 
a  corpse.  My  heart  beat  quicker  than  usual.  I  did  not  wish  to  be 
afraid.  I  struggled  hard  not  to  cry  out,  but  a  strange  fear  was  taking 
hold  of  my  whole  being;  and  my  physical  sufferings  I  could  hardly 
endure.  I  did  not  wish  to  awake  the  poor  sick  woman  at  my  side,  but 
to  assure  myself  that  I  was  among  the  living,  I  put  my  hand  up,  and, 
to  my  great  horror,  I  passed  it  over  the  cold  and  clammy  face  of  a 
real  corpse.  I  then  gave  a  scream  that  made  that  gloomy  chamber 
ring,  and  awoke  all  the  sleepers  but  the  poor  woman  at  my  side.  She 
was  now  taking  the  dreamless  sleep  that  knows  no  waking,  A  nurse 
came  to  me,  and,  in  an  angry  voice,  asked : 

"What  the  deuce  are  you  making  such  a  row  for?" 

I  covered  and  hid  my  face  with  my  hands;  a  mortal  fear  shook  my 
frame,  and  I  could  not  help  sobbing  and  crying  as  if  my  heart  would 
breakup  The  nurse  was  about  to  leave  me  and  go  back  to  her  bed, 
without  knowing  or  caring  why  I  gave  such  a  terrified  cry.  She  scolded 
me  and  turned  to  go,  when  I  found  courage  to  call  out: 

"Oh,  do  not  go!    Look  here!"  and  I  pointed  to  the  bed  at  my  side. 

"Oh,"  said  the  coarse  woman,  "now  you  can  get  a  bedstead  to  lie 
on,  when  we  turn  this  one  off  of  it." 

She  went  and  brought  another  woman,  who  helped  her  to  toss  and 
tumble  the  poor,  lifeless  body  in  a  most  brutal  way,  pulling  the  bed- 
clothes off,  and  leaving  the  ghastly  corpse  with  only  a  scant  garment 
for  covering.  I  dared  not  look  at  the  body :  the  naked  limbs,  the  oi)en 
mouth,  the  half-closed  eyes  were  to  me,  in  my  fevered  condition,  per- 
fectly horrible.  After  a  while  a  sheet  was  thrown  over  the  body,  and. 
when  day  dawned,  two  ill-looking  men  came  into  the  ward  with  a  box, 
and,  with  oaths  and  vulgar  words,  they  put  the  mortal  part  of  one 
whose  immortal  part  was  beyond  the  scoff  and  scorn,  the  obscene  lan- 
guage and  brutal  treafrnent  hurled  at  her,  into  the  box. 

Oh,  how  I  cried  to  God  to  save  me  from  such  treatment!  I  knew 
she  felt  nothing,  knew  nothing  after  death;  but  I  was  still  alive  and 
full  of  feeling,  and  I  could  not  endure  to  think  of  such  indignities  to 
my  poor  dead  body,  without  horror. 

"  O  Lord,  save  me  alive  to  leave  this  dreadful  place,"  was  my  prayer. 


94  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

Whether  this  prayer  was  a  submissive  one  I  doubt  very  much.  My 
prayer  was  answered ;  perhaps  in  order  to  teach  me  to  be  more  trust- 
ful and  submissive.  I  had  yet  much  to  learn,  and  every  day  I.  was  re- 
ceiving new  lessons.  This  poor  woman,  though  unknown  to  earth's 
great  ones,  wears  a  crown  of  glory,  I  believe,  brighter  far  than  those  of 
earth.  Her  poor,  emaciated  body  was  thrown  into  a  rough  box  and 
hurried  away  to  a  pauper's  grave.  She  knew  the  Lord  would  call  her, 
and  she  calmly  said: 

"I  must  go." 

She  had  no  fear.  Her  last  words  to  me  were  words  of  Christian 
comfort  and  kindness : 

"Trust  God  always;  He  will  take  care  of  you.  Hush,  dear!  Be 
good  and  sleep." 

She  passed  away  from  the  seen  to  the  unseen  world,  without  sigh, 
or  groan,  or  struggle.  No  hand  of  aifection  was  near  to  do  the  last 
kind  office  for  her,  who  must  ever  have  been  kind  to  others.  Well, 
her  body  rests  as  quietly  as  a  queen's,  and  her  soul  no  doubt  reigns 
with  her  Savior.  Farewell,  good,  kind  woman!  whoever  you  were. 
I  shall  cherish  your  memory. 

I  lay  on  that  hospital  floor  all  night  in  my  clothes,  and  burning  with 
fever,  with  a  corpse  for  my  companion,  and  my  feelings  wrought  up  to 
the  highest  pitch  by  fear  and  horror.  The  nurse  was  a  most  coarse  and 
unfeeling  woman,  and  I  was  greatly  afraid  of  her.  As  soon  as  the 
corpse  was  removed  from  the  stretcher-bed,  I  was  undressed  and  put 
on  it.  Oh,  how  my  flesh  shrunk  from  the  contact!  I  begged  the 
nurse  to  let  me  lie  on  the  floor  rather  than  put  me  on  that  bed;  but  she 
scolded  me  and  ordered  me  to  lie  still;  I  was  in  her  way  on  the  floor. 
I  said  no  more  about  the  bed.  I  asked  for  my  own  sleeping-gown  and 
my  dressing-gown,  and  some  other  garments  that  I  had  brought  with 
me.  I  wished  to  wear  them,  and  not  the  mean,  pauper-like  hospital 
garments  that  the  woman  was  putting  on  me,  to  my  great  disgust.  But 
she  said  I  should  not  have  them  till  I  left.  So  I  could  do  nothing  but 
cry.  I  was  very  much  mortified  at  my  appearance,  though  all  were 
dressed  alike.     I  did  not  like  any  of  the  patients  to  see  me. 

The  doctor  came,  and  I  hid  my  face  under  thfe  sheet  for  very  shame 
at  my  queer  equipment.  The  doctor  asked,  in  a  kind  tone,  of  the 
nurse  what  ailed  me  that  I  cried  so.  The  vulgar  hypocrite  said,  blandly 
enough : 

"The  dear  child  has  done  nothing  but  cry  since  she  was  brought 
here  yesterday.     She  says  she  wants  her  books." 


LIFE  AND  SUFFERINGS  IN  NEW  SOUTH  WALES.  95 

''Then  let  her  have  them.  She  must  be  better  attended  to  than  she 
appears  to  have  been  since  she  came  in." 

If  the  nurse  had  said  I  wanted  my  own  clothes  and  m}-  money,  I 
doubt  not  she  would  have  been  ordered  to  let  me  have  them.  As  it 
was,  I  was  to  have  my  books,  and  I  was  moved  to  another  bed  in  the 
corner  of  the  room,  where  no  other  beds  were  near  me.  This  consid- 
erateness  of  the  doctor  was  duly  appreciated  by  me.  All  the  pains  and 
aches  of  my  body  settled  in  my  limbs,  and  the  pain  I  suffered  was  ex- 
cruciating. I  had  my  Abbott's  Young  Christian,  Jane,  the  Yozaig  Cot- 
tager, and  The  Sinner's  Friend.  I  was  too  ill  to  read,  but  I  never 
complained.  I  wanted  nothing;  I  asked  for  nothing;  and  when  meal- 
time came,  I  Could  not  eat  the  coarse  food  they  gave  me,  but  other 
patients  could  eat  mine  and  their  own  too.  I  lived  on  rice-water  all 
the  time  I  was  there.  The  men  Avho  had  carried  me  up  to  the  ward, 
and  carried  the  corpse  out  of  it,  were  under-nurses  in  the  female  ward. 
They  cleaned  it,  and  waited  on  the  patients.  My  sensitive  nature  was 
shocked  at  this  arrangement.  I  saw  and  heard  much  that  shocked  me. 
I  used  my  books  to  cover  my  eyes  from  all  sights  that  offended  me. 
I  could  not  shut  out  sounds  so  easily. 

A  very  beautiful  woman  lay  on  a  bed  opposite  to  mine,  her  feet  to 
mine.  Her  beauty  looked  almost  superhuman,  but  a  more  profane, 
blasphemous  tongue  I  never  heard  in  woman's  head.  The  horrid  oaths 
she  would  belch  forth  were  perfecdy  frightful.  One  day,  when  no  one 
was  near,  I  asked  her  in  a  very  meek  manner,  if  she  would  please  not 
say  so  many  bad  words,  she  frightened  me.     She  roared  out : 

"You  young  Methodist  hypocrite,  I  shall  swear  just  as  much  as  I 
want  to,  and  more  for  your  benefit.  Ha!  ha!  A  fine  thing,  a  Metho- 
dist.    Ha!  ha!" 

I  was  sorry  that  I  had  spoken  to  her,  for  I  did  not  like  being  called 
a  Methodist  hypocrite.  The  two  male  nurses  came  in  and  sat  down  upon 
her  bed,  and  she  made  all  sorts  of  sneering,  jeering  remarks  about  the 
Methodist  hypocrite  they  had  got  among  them.  And  until  the  day  I 
left  the  hospital,  I  was  subjected  to  the  al)usive  tongue  of  this  beautiful 
demon.  When  she  began  to  speak  to  me,  or  about  me,  in  foul  lan- 
guage, I  always  covered  my  head  with  the  sheet.  I  was  grieved  to 
hear  such  cursing  issue  from  lips  that  seemed  formed  for  blessing.  Be- 
tween the  taunting  tongue  of  this  beautiful  creature,  and  those  who 
joined  her,  and  the  terrible  pains  I  suffered,  I  was  constantly  on  the 
rack.  Many  were  the  sad  and  bitter  tears  I  shed,  when  that  great  room 
was  shrouded  in  gloom  at  midnight,  and  no  kind  hand  to  wipe  them 


gO  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

away.  But  had  a  kind  mother's  hand  been  there  to  wipe  them,  there 
would  have  been  none  to  wipe  away.  In  those  dreary,  sleepless  nights, 
"I  cried  unto  the  Lord  with  my  voice,  even  unto  God  with  my  voice, 
and  He  gave  ear  unto  me.  In  thee,  O  Lord,  do  I  put  my  trust;  let 
me  never  be  put  to  confusion.  Deliver  me  from  this' place,  and  cause 
me  to  escape.  Incline  thine  ear,  and  save  me,  for  thou  art  my  hope. 
I  am  an  alien  unto  my  mother's  children.  O  God,  Thou  art  my  Father, 
and  Thou,  dear  Jesus,  art  my  Brother.  For  Thy  dear  sake  I  can  bear 
reproach,  but  be  thou  near  to  me  at  all  times,  to  give  me  strength." 

Sunday  was  the  only  day  that  visitors  were  admitted  to  see  their  friends. 
On  the  first  Sunday  of  my  being  in  that  house,  what  was  my  consterna- 
tion, when  two  gentlemen  were  brought  into  the  ward,  and  walked 
up  to  my  bedside,  and  I  saw  my  handsome  cousin,  dressed  in  full  uni- 
form, and  Neptune  with  him.  Oh,  what  a  bright  vision  were  they  in 
that  house  of  gloom.  I  was  glad  to  see  them,  but  so  mortified  at  being 
seen  in  the  hateful  habiliments  I  had  on,  that  I  covered  my  head  and 
cried.  Tom  cried  too.  He  took  my  hand  and  held  it  quietly  for  some 
time,  till  I  became  composed  enough  to  speak  to  them.  The  nurse, 
with  great  obsequiousness,  brought  chairs,  and  fluttered  about,  and 
asked  in  the  kindest  tones,  if  I  wanted  anything.  These  were  the  first 
kind  words  she  had  addressed  to  me  since  she  had  me  in  charge.  I 
had  no  wants  that  she  could  supply,  so  I  thanked  her.  I  told  Tom 
that  the  nurse  had  taken  my  clothes,  money  and  books ;  she  was  or- 
dered to  return  to  me  my  books,  but  she  had  my  nice  clothes,  and  I 
did  not  like  the  ones  I  had  on. 

"Never  mind  your  dress,  make  haste  and  get  well,  and  get  out  of 
this  place,"  said  he,  in  a  cheery  tone. 

I  asked  him  how  he  knew  where  I  was.  He  said  some  of  the  sailors 
saw  a  boat  pass  the  ship,  and  they  thought  they  saw  me  stretched  out 
on  a  bed. 

"I  then  got  a  glass  and  spied  you,  and  saw  you  carried  ashore,  and 
put  into  a  carriage,  and  driven  off  toward  the  hospital.  I  came  up  next 
day  to  make  inquiries,  and  found  you  were  here,  but  could  not  see  you 
till  to-day." 

The  beautiful  demon,  as  I  thought  the  woman  opposite,  was  watching 
us  with  the  most  intense  interest.  The  nurse  came  to  give  me  my 
"physic,"  as  she  said.  Cousin  Tom  took  it  out  of  her  hand;  he  said  he 
would  give  it  to  me.  He  put  his  hand  under  my  pillow  to  raise  me  up, 
and  gave  the  black  draught  to  me.  He  was  so  good.  God  bless  him,  I 
prayed.     They  left  me,  but  left  behind  a  bright  ray  of  sunshine,  that 


LIFE  AXD  SUFFERINGS  IN  NEW  SOUTH  WALES.  97 

cheered  me  wonderfully.  The  nurse  was  shaking  up  my  pillows,  when 
she  found  some  money  under  it.  She  was  about  to  consign  it  to  her 
own  capacious  pocket,  when  the  woman  opposite  shouted: 

"  Come,  nurse,  that  is  not  fair,  give  the  girl  her  money.     I  saw  the 
young  gentleman  put  it  under  her  head." 

"Well,  let  her  treat  us  if  I  give  it  up,"  said  the  nurse. 
Cousin  Tom  took  this  delicate  way  of  leaving  me  the  use  of  some 
money,  seeing  the  nurse  had  mine,  and  she  very  nearly  had  his  too. 
It  was  kind,  I  thought,  of  Tom,  but  I  did  wish  that  he  had  not  left  it. 
The  two  women  asked  what  should  be  sent  for.  I  told  them  I  wanted 
fruit,  for  I  was  thirsty  and  hot  with  fever.  So  a  basket  of  sweet,  juicy 
fruit  was  brought.  I  took  one  pear  out  of  the  basket,  and  the  rest  was 
divided  among  those  who  did  not  really  need  it.  Every  day  kind  mes- 
sages and  fruit  and  delicacies  were  sent  to  me  by  Mrs.  C ,  but  I 

knew  nothing  of  them,  or  ever  partook  of  them.  This  hospital  had 
been  built  for  convicts,  but  as  free  settlers  became  numerous,  they 
needed  another  hospital;  so  another  place  was  provided  for  the  con- 
victs, and  those  who  were  pay  patients  were  admitted  to  this  place. 
But  the  nurses,  both  men  and  women,  were,  or  had  been,  convicts,  and 
they  were  drunken,  and  dishonest,  and  very  rough.  Two  weeks  I 
stayed  in  this  prison-like  abode,  when  one  day  I  was  able  to  get  up 
without  help.  I  was  entirely  free  from  pain.  I  felt  well,  and  told  the 
nurse  so,  and  told  her  to  bring  my  clothes,  I  wished  to  dress,  and  leave 
the  hospital.  She  said  I  could  not  go  without  the  doctor's  permission. 
When  he  came  in  the  morning,  I  told  him  I  felt  well,  and  Avished  to 
leave. 

"Well,"  he  said,  "continue  well  until  to-morrow,  then  you  may  go." 

I  did  not  know  how  to  send  a  message  to  Mr.  C that  I  was 

better,  or  he  would  have  sent  for  me.  I  had  not  heard  one  word  from 
them  since  I  had  been  in  the  hospital,  though  many  messages  were 
sent  to  me.  Next  day  the  garments  that  I  wore  when  I  came  to  the 
ho.spital  were  brought  to  me,  and  no  more.  I  was  dressed  after  a  long 
time,  and  when  I  said  good-bye  to  the  nurse,  I  hoped  never  to  see  her 
again.  I  reached  the  stair ;  I  was  afraid  to  step  down,  lest  I  should  make  a 
somersault.  My  head  was  so  giddy  I  sat  down;  then  I  crawled  down 
step  by  step  till  about  half-way  down,  fearing  lest  any  one  should  see 
me.  I  nearly  fainted  when  I  reached  the  foot  of  the  long  stairs.  I 
was  leaning  against  the  wall  for  support,  when  one  of  the  male  nurses 
coming  down  stairs  saw  me,  and  was  about  to  call  the  house  surgeon  to 
me,  I  looked  so  ill.  I  told  Iiim  not  to  call  him ;  I  was  not  ill,  only  weak, 
7 


gS  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

and  if  he  would  help  me  across  the  yard,  and  let  me  go  out  at  the  gate, 
I  should  be  very  much  obliged  to  him.     The  doctor  said  I  might  go. 

"All  right,"  said  the  man,  and  he  half-supported  me  across  the 
yard,  opened  the  great  iron  gate,  and  when  I  passed  through,  he  shut 
the  gate  with  a  bang,  and  bolted  me  out.  Oli,  what  a  relief!  I  stag- 
gered across  the  street.  I  wished  to  get  as  far  from  the  gate  as  possi- 
ble, but  my  limbs  refused  to  carry  me.  I  fell  up  against  a  low  stone- 
wall surmounted  by  an  iron  railing,  just  opposite  the  ponderous  iron 
gate  I  had  but  now  emerged  from.  Here  I  sat  for  a  long  time,  unable 
to  walk.  Moreover,  I  had  never  set  foot  in  the  great  city,  and  knew 
not  which  way  to  go,  and  no  one  passed  by  of  whom  I  could  ask  direc- 
tions. I  was  getting  faint  and  weary  to  exhaustion,  when  some  one 
passing  saw  my  pale  face  and  sinking  frame,  and  asked  me  if  I  were 
sick.  I  roused  up,  looked  across  to  the  great  gate ;  I  feared  to  re-enter, 
and  said : 

"Oh,  no;  not  sick,  only  tired.  Will  you  tell  me  where  to  find  the 
custom-house?    Which  way  to  take?"    I  was  directed  which  way  to 

go,  but  I  was  very  long  in  finding  it.     Mr.  C was  astonished  to 

see  me,  and  said  I  did  not  look  well  enough  to  leave  the  hospital. 

"Oh,  yes,  I  am  well,  only  tired  and  weak,"  I  said.  "Take  me 
home,  and  I  will  be  quite  well  soon." 

"I  will  surely  take  you  home  if  you  wish  it,"  Mr.  C said,  and 

I  did  wish,  above  every  other  thing  at  that  time,  to  get  home.     Mr. 

C helped  me  down  to  the  galley  that  took  me  from  the  ship. 

Here  were  the  eight  young  men  dressed  in  white,  ready,  with  oars  in 
hand,  to  dart  off  with  us,  as  soon  as  the  signal  was  given.  These 
young  men  were  all  convicts,  and  were  in  the  custom-house  service. 
We  had  a  pleasant  sail,  or  rather  row,  to  Waterview  Villa.  All  were 
pleased,  but  surprised,  to  see  me.  I  looked  more  like  a  grave-deserter 
than  anything  else,  they  told  me.  From  over-exertion  and  excitement 
on  this  day,  the  next  I  lay  in  a  stupor  Avithout  power  to  speak  or  move, 
though  quite  conscious.  Fortunately,  ere  another  day  rolled  round, 
I  was  able  to  be  on  my  feet;  otherwise,  I  was  going  to  be  taken  back 
to  the  hospital. 

Governor  Phillip,  when  he  landed  at  Botany  Bay,  found  it  unsuitable 
for  a  new  and  permanent  settlement;  so  he  began  to  look  for  a  more 
eligible  place,  and  he  soon  found  on  Port  Jackson  what  he  desired. 
The  settlers,  convicts  and  stores  were  removed  to  Port  Jackson.  The 
land  was  cleared,  a  city  laid  out  and  named  Sydney,  for  a  nobleman 
.of  that  jaame,  who  was  at  that  time  Colonial  Secretary,     The  second 


LIFE  AND  SUFFERINGS  IN  NEW  SOUTH  WALES.  99 

fleet  arrived  in  1791  with  two  thousand  persons,  the  convicts  and  their 
keepers.  The  history  of  the  colony  under  Governor  Philhp  is  a  record 
of  continual  struggles  against  adverse  circumstances.  The  pilfering 
habits  of  some  of  the  convicts,  and  the  attempts  of  others  to  escape, 
caused  much  trouble.  The  great  mass  of  vice  and  crime  that  had  been 
poured  upon  the  shores  of  New  South  Wales  for  fifty  years,  made  it  a 
sink  of  iniquity.  When  ships  arrived  with  female  convicts,  if  the 
women  were  at  all  refractory,  they  were  sent  to  a  factory  where  they 
had  to  work  hard  and  fare  worse.  This  factory  was  at  Parramatta, 
about  fourteen  miles  from  Sydney,  at  the  head  of  a  prolongation  of 
Port  Jackson,  called  Parramatta  River,  the  name  signifying  a  place  of 
eels.  Other  convict  women,  who  were  better  behaved,  were  assigned 
to  different  classes  of  people.  Magistrates  and  other  pubhc  function- 
aries would  have  female  convicts  assigned  to  them  by  Government, 
whose  labor  would  stand  for  the  salary  of  said  public  officers.  Farm- 
ers, squatters  and  merchants  had  female  convicts  assigned  to  them  on 
agreement  that  they  bound  themselves  under  a  penalty  of  ^20  to  re- 
tain them  for  three  years  in  their  service,  finding  the  necessary  subsist- 
ence, clothing  and  lodging,  and  in  no  case  to  let  them  go  beyond  their 
control,  except  with  the  consent  of  a  magistrate,  or  in  case  of  bad  con- 
duct legally  proved.  Now,  some  of  these  poor  women,  who  had  been 
banished  for  very  small  crimes,  and  had  repented  of  their  faults,  would, 
had  they  had  an  opportunity,  have  reformed  and  made  useful  women ; 
but  often  they  were  assigned  to  ticket-of-leave  men,  who  were  low, 
coarse  and  brutal;  and  these  men,  who  had  been  convicts  themselves, 
ought  never  to  have  had  females  assigned  to  them.  Many  of  these 
poor  women  were  dragged  down  to  the  lowest  depths  of  degradation 
and  vice,  and  none  to  pity  or  save  them.  Other  women,  young,  good- 
looking,  but  vicious  in  their  habits,  would  be  assigned  to  young  men 
who  were  beginning  life  by  squatting,  and  to  men  who  had  left  their 
native  land  to  prepare  a  home  in  this  distant  land  for  their  wives  and 
young  families.  All  these  were  highly  respectable  husbands,  brothers 
and  sons  at  home;  but  here  they  were  all  free  from  liOine  influences, 
and  gave  loose  rein  to  their  evil  propensities.  They  drank  and  quar- 
reled and  fought  and  often  killed  each  other.  The  whole  country  was 
corrupt.  Magistrates  in  the  country  districts  were  to  be  seen  in  pub- 
lic with  their  assigned  women.  Other  men  were  not  at  all  ashamed 
of  their  manner  of  life.  They  made  vice  fa.shionable,  who  ought,  by 
virtue  of  their  office  and  social  status,  to  have  stemmed  the  torrent  that 
was  deluging  the  fair  and  beauteous  land.     When  I  read  the  accounts 


lOO  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

of  all  the  wickedness  that  was  transpiring  around  me,  I  thought  our 
good  Dr.  McF had  not  given  me  an  exaggerated  picture. 

Oh,  how  important  to  have  the  fear  of  God  before  our  eyes,  and  his 
love  in  our  hearts,  to  keep  us  from  evil.  With  such  families  as  Mr. 
C 's,  convicts,  both  male  and  female,  were  in  very  favorable  cir- 
cumstances to  reform ;  and  it  was  both  the  interest  and  inclination  of 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  C to  preserve  a  domestic  atmosphere  of  decency, 

and  something  like  pure  manners,  on  account  of  their  children.  And 
if  they  did  not  succeed  to  their  entire  satisfaction,  they  at  least  pre- 
vented drunkenness,  unblushing  vice,  and  gross  disgusting  language. 
I  saw  little  to  offend  either  eye  or  ear  while  I  was  at  Waterview  Villa. 

Mrs.  C told  me  one  day  that  they  expected  a  farewell  visit  from 

the  distinguished  explorer.  Captain  Sturt,  who  had  been  appointed  Sur- 
veyor-General of  South  Australia,  and  who  intended  to  carry  his  fam- 
ily to  that  distant  province.  I  was  all  curiosity  and  anxiety  to  see  the 
great  Australian  explorer  and  discoverer.  I  could  not  then  divine  a 
reason  for  my  curiosity,  or  anxiety  to  meet  him,  or  the  result  of  that 
meeting.  The  day  for  his  visit  rolled  round.  He  came,  brought 
his  wife,  two  children  and  their  nurse,  to  spend  a  day  or  two  at 
the  villa.  The  children,  one  and  three  years  old,  were  beautiful 
boys,  fair  as  lilies.  Mrs.  Sturt  was  elegant  in  her  manners,  but 
sharp-featured.     I  did  not,  at  first  sight,  think  of  her  as  I  had  thought 

of  Mrs.  C :  that  she  was  a  human  angel.    I  was  perfectly  charmed 

with  Captain  Sturt.  He  was  a  grand-looking,  middle-aged  man,  with 
courtly  manners,  but  kind  and  pleasant  with  all.  He  and  I  became 
friendly  at  once.  I  had  great  veneration  for  him;  he  was  a  great  trav- 
eler, and  he  must  have  mines  of  knowledge  that  I  had  a  great  desire 
to  dive  into.  I  hung  upon  his  words  because  they  gave  me  new  ideas. 
My  mind  seemed  to  grow  while  listening  to  him.  He  was  a  great  man. 
He  asked  me  if  I  liked  New  South  Wales.  I  told  him  I  thought  I 
could  like  it  if  the  people  were  not  so  bad,  for  I  was  afraid  of  bad 
people;  and  there  were  so  many  convicts  in  the  country  that  I  did  not 
know  how  to  talk  to  them,  and  did  not  know  the  convict  from  the  free 
man.     He  laughed  and  said : 

"This  is  a  convict  colony,  and  the  people,  as  a  rule,  are  very  wicked 
■ — both  the  free  man  and  the  prisoner."  He  put  his  hand  upon  my 
head,  and  said:  "You  had  better  come  with  us;  we  are  going  to  a 
beautiful  country,  where  there  are  no  convicts,  and  the  people  are  de- 
cidedly more  respectable;  but  there  are  not  many  there — it  is  a  new 
province." 


LIFE  AND  SUFFERINGS  IN  NEW  SOUTH  WALES.  lOI 

I  said  I  should  like  to  go  if  my  friends  would  also  go. 

"We  should  like  Mr.  and  Mrs.  C to  go  very  much,  but  they 

can  not  go,"  said  the  captain. 

"Oh,  I  do  not  mean  them.  I  mean  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Holmes,  who 
were  my  guardians  from  Scotland,  and  I  am  left  here  till  they  can  come 
or  send  for  me  from  the  country." 

"Suppose  you  change  guardians,  and  take  Mrs.  Sturt  and  myself 
instead  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Holmes.  We  will  be  father  and  mother  to 
you;  will  take  good  care  of  you  and  provide  for  you.  Will  you  go 
with  us  to  the  new  country?" 

The  new,  unknown  country  had  a  charm  for  me,  because  it  was  un- 
known, and  the  distinguished  traveler,  who  was,  with  his  wife,  so  well 
fitted  to  take  care  of  me  and  instruct  me,  had  asked  me  to  go  with 
them,  and  had  promised  me  guardianship  and  fatherly  and  motherly 
care.  Surely,  thought  I,  God  has  opened  this  way  for  me  to  leave 
this  crime-stained  land.  I  said  I  shall  go  if  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Holmes  do 
not  object.  They  were  written  to,  and  they  did  not  object.  So  I  had 
to  get  ready  for  another  leave-taking  in  a  very  short  time.  The  four 
months  that  I  was  on  board  the  Portland  I  had  no  clothes  washed; 
consequently  I  had  many  dozens  of  garments  to  wash,  and  I  had  only 
had  a  few  articles  washed  since  I  came  ashore,  and  all  the  rest  were  in 
the  laundry.  I  had  not  the  time  to  wait  for  them  to  be  washed,  so  I 
told  the  laundress  when  they  were  washed  to  divide  them  among  the 
women  servants.     They  had,  though  convicts,  been  very  kind  to  me. 

I  packed  two  trunks  to  take  with  me,  and  left  my  great  sea-chest  to 
be  sent  after  me  at  another  time.      I  took  leave  of  Mr.   and  Mrs. 

C with  some  regret,  and  Miss  Emily  and  the  servants;  but. the 

strong  desire  to  see  other  lands  made  me  feel  less  sorry  than  I  might 
otherwise  have  felt.  Besides,  I  looked  uj)  to  Captain  Sturt  with  a  con- 
fiding veneration  and  admiration;  with  a  feeling  of  security  under  his 
guardianship. 

I  accompanied  Captain  and  Mrs.  Sturt  to  Sydney.  I  spent  one  Sun- 
day in  the  city.  I  called  upon  the  Baptist  minister,  Mr.  Saunders,  with 
my  church-letter  from  Scotland.  I  sat  down  with  the  church  that  diy. 
Mr.  Saunders  told  me  there  was  a  young  gentleman  going  to  Adelaide 

in  the  schooner,  John  Pirie,  that  I  Avas  going  in.      Mr.  S was  a 

member  of  the  church,  a  decidedly  Christian  young  gentleman,  and  he 
would  be  company  for  me  going  on  the  voyage.      I  was  pleased  at  this 

intelligence.       Mr.   Saunders  introduced  Mr.  S to  me,  and  also 

gave  me  a  letter  of  introduction  to  Mr.  David  McLaren,  Manager  of 


102  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

the  South  Australian  Company,  and  also  a  preacher  of  the  Baptist 
Church.  Miss  King,  who  had  chaperoned  me  at  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  was  living  with  her  brother  on  the  outskirts  of  the  city,  and  invited 
me- to  spend  a  day  or  two  with  her  ere  I  left  Sydney.  She  invited  a 
few  of  her  friends  to  meet  me,  and  say  good-by.  My  cousin  Tom  and 
Neptune  were  among  the  number.  I  was  glad  to  see  them,  though  I 
parted  with  my  cousin  that  night  never  to  meet  again.  Good,  kind 
cousin  Tom,  and  our  mutual  friend,  Neptune,  I  will  ever  hold  in  grate- 
ful remembrance. 

I  remained  all  night  with  Miss  King,  but  could  tarry  no  longer,  as 
we  expected  to  go  on  board  ship  that  night  and  sail  early  next  morning. 

When  I  reached  the  mansion  of  Mr.  M ,  where  Captain  Sturt  and 

family  were  staying  till  we  sailed,  I  saw  a  carriage  at  the  door,  with 
Mrs.  Sturt,  the  children  and  nurse  already  packed  in,  with  several 
packages  beside  them.  I  stopped  to  speak  to  them  a  moment  ere  I 
went  into  the  house,  but  Mrs.  Sturt  called  out : 

"Jump  in,  quick!  the  ship  is  about  to  sail;  we  have  not  a  moment 
to  lose.     Quick!  be  quick!" 

"My  trunks!" 

"Oh,  they  can  be  sent  to  you  by  the  next  ship." 

Here  was  a  dilemma:  either  to  stay  with  my  trunks,  or  go  on  a  voy- 
age of  unknown  length,  to  an  unknown  country,  without  any  clothes 
but  what  I  had  on.     I  did  not  take  long  to  decide. 

"Wait  one  minute!"  I  said. 

I  ran  upstairs,  took  from  my  trunk  a  change  of  linen,  wrapped  it  in 
a  piece  of  paper,  jumped  into  the  carriage  and  was  driven  to  the 
wharf  as  quickly  as  four  high-bred  horses  could  take  us.  Captain 
Sturt  came  dashing  down  on  horseback  at  the  same  time.  He  had 
been  on  the  search  for  me.  The  vessel  had  been  towed  out  into  the 
middle  of  the  harbor  and  was  now  weighing  anchor.  All  the  luggage 
was  on  board  except  mine,  and  mine  they  feared  to  take  lest  they 
could  not  find  me,  and  they  did  not  like  taking  my  trunks  away  from 
me;  but  they  did  not  hesitate  to  take  me  away  from  my  trunks. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

FROM  NEW  SOUTH  WALES  TO  SOUTH  AUSTRALIA. 

We  took  boats,  and  reached  the  schooner  yi;/;;/  Pirie  just  as  her  sails 
were  spread  to  the  freshening  breeze.  I  did  not  regret  leaving  New 
South  Wales,  the  crime-stained  land.  My  three  months  sojourn  in  it 
filled  me  with  doubts  and  fears  as  to  my  future.  I  trusted  in  God,  but 
my  way  was  obscure  till  He  opened  a  new  way  for  me,  and  I  walked 
in  it.  A  happy  confidence  was  taking  place  of  my  doubts.  I  was  able 
to  cast  my  anxieties  at  the  foot  of  the  cross  of  my  dear  Savior. 

As  I  sat  on  the  little  poop  deck,  reflecting  upon  my  sudden  depart- 
ure from  Sydney,  and  my  meager  wardrobe,  I  smiled  at  the  figure  I 
would  make  in  the  land  of  strangers,  in  the  one  dress  I  had  worn 
through  the  voyage.  I  had  no  regrets,  however.  I  felt  that  if  I  were 
clothed  in  the  righteousness  of  Christ,  my  dress  would  be  all  glorious. 

As  we  neared  the  heads  or  sea-gate,  the  waters  of  the  Pacific  were 
rushing  into  the  harbor,  and  our  little  ship  began  to  tumble  about  most 
uncomfortably.  When  we  rolled  out  on  to  the  bosom  of  the  great  deep, 
I  grew  deathly  sea-sick,  and  was  so  ill,  I  cared  for  nothing.  All  were 
sick  below.  Iwas  unable  to  go  to  my  cabin,  and  so  lay  down,  and 
slept  from  exhaustion,  on  the  poop  deck.    When  I  awoke,  I  was  warm 

and  comfortable,  and  Mr.  H.  H sitting  at  my  feet  to  prevent  my 

being  pitched  into  the  sea.  He  told  Captain  Sturt,  when  he  was 
looking  for  me,  to  allow  me  to  have  my  sleep  out;  it  would  make  me 
well,  and  he  would  watch  by  me  while  I  slept.  He  covered  me  with 
a  monkey  jacket,  and  kept  guard.  Such  kindnesses  as  these  fall  upon 
my  heart  like  rays  of  sunshine.  He  helped  me  down  to  the  saloon,  but 
all  were  in  their  rooms  sick.  I  went  into  mine.  We  had  fine  weather 
for  a  few  days,  and  we  all  soon  recovered   from  our  indisposition. 

After  dinner.  Captain  and  Mrs.  Sturt,  the  shipmaster  and  Mr.  C 

would  have  wine  and  cards,  and  sit  over  these  till  late  in  the  evening. 

Captain   H ,   Mr.   S ,  and   Mr.   T ,  and  Mr.  R ,  and 

myself  would  go  upon  deck,  wrap  up  well,  and  I  would  sit  up  in  the 
midst  of  these,  and  listen  with  pleased  attention  to  the  various  stories 
each  had  to  tell,  especially  Captain  H.  H ;  he  had  traveled  most, 


104  ,  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

and  had  more  to  tell,  and,  of  course,  was  very  entertaining.  We  spent 
a  few  evenings  in  this  way  most  delightfully  under  the  starlit  sky,  with 
music  as  a  variation.  These  young  gentlemen  were  all  as  kind  and 
attentive  as  brothers,  and  gentle  as  sisters  to  me. 

The  storm  spirit  was  asleep,  and  we  thought  not  of  danger.  Bass 
Strait  is  a  favorite  resort  for  the  spirit  of  the  storm,  but  he  must  have 
been  exercising  his  power  elsewhere.  One  calm,  still  evening  he  burst 
upon  us  very  suddenly.  He  was  jealous  of  our  quiet  ways,  and  broke 
ihem  up  very  unceremoniously,  and  without  premonition.  The  night 
was  calm  and  still,  and  our  little  ship  was  sailing  along  on  her  course 
under  a  cloudless  sky.  Everything  was  still,  and  we  could  hear  the 
gurgling  of  the  water  and  the  sound  of  the  sea,  as  we  steered  through 
it.  There  was  the  one-inch  plank  between  me  and  eternity.  Every 
time  I  heard  the  gurgling  sound  at  my  ear,  I  thought  the  grim  king 
was  seeking  an  entrance  and  a  victim.  But  I  felt  that  Christ  had  con- 
quered him,  and  had  led  him  captive.  I  feared  him  not;  I  was  Christ's, 
and  Christ  was  mine.  I  committed  myself  to  his  care,  and  laid  me 
down  and  slept.  All  were  asleep.  About  midnight  we  were  suddenly 
aroused  by  a  tremendous  shock,  that  threw  strong,  heavy,  athletic  men 
from  their  state-room  berths  to  the  cabin  floor  stunned,  confused  and 
amazed.  The  poor,  little  ship  was  shuddering  throughout  her  whole 
frame,  like  a  living  creature  in  the  agonies  of  death.  Our  cabin  doors 
flew  open,  though  fastened  with  bolts,  and  v/ater  rushed  in  upon  us 
from  every  part;  we  were  nearly  strangled  and  blinded  by  it.  A  most 
fearful  cry  arose,  which  resounded  from  stem  to  stern.  "The  ship  has 
struck  a  sunken  rock!"  " We  are  sinking ! "  " O  God,  have  mercy 
upon  us;  save  us!"  were  words  heard  from  lips  unused  to  pray.  All 
was  consternation  and  confusion.  The  master  of  this  richly  and  heav- 
ily laden  litde  ship,  in  this  hour  of  peril,  was  lying  helplessly  drunk  on 
the  saloon  sofa;  but  when  the  crash  came,  he  was  pitched  off  on  the 
floor,  and  had  only  gained  a  sitting  posuire,  when  we,  the  half-drowned 
ones,  who  were  tumbling  from  our  berths  so  unceremoniously,  were 
picking   ourselves   up   to   collect  our  scattered  senses.      Captain  H. 

H 's  voice  was  heard  in  quick,  anxious,  peremptory  orders,  and 

the  crew  were  prompt  in  their  eager  and  terrified  "aye,  aye,  sir." 
Our  little  ship  was  tossed  about  in  a  terrible  manner.     As  the  storm 

grew  louder,  and  the  waves  rolled  dark  and  high.  Captain  H came 

down,  called  loudly  for  Captain  M to  come  on  deck  and  look  after 

the  ship,  or  we  would  all  inevitably  perish.     The  surly,  drunken  old 
fellow  growled  out  some  oaths  at  being  disturbed,  and  staggered  up  to 


FROM  NEW  SOUTH  WALES  TO  SOUTH  AUSTRALIA^  I05 

the  deck.  In  the  midst  of  the  confusion,  I  crept  to  the  far  end  of  the 
table,  climbed  on  a  locker,  and  sat  and  viewed,  in  the  midst  of  extreme 
peril,  a  scene  that  was  very  gloomy,  but  had  a  dash  of  the  ludicrous 
in  it.  I  was  sitting  high  up,  my  naked  feet  dangling  down,  holding  to 
a  rope  to  keep  myself  from  swaying  about  too  much.  The  drunk  Cap- 
tain sat  on  the  corner  of  the  sofa  "nid  nodding,"  and  at  the  other  cor- 
ner of  the  sofa  sat  Captain  Sturt,  trying  to  quiet  his  wife's  hysterical 
cries.  She  was  clinging  to  him,  and  calling  to  him  to  save  her,  while 
one  of  her  little  boys  was  clinging  to  her  and  crying,  but  she  took  no 
notice  of  him.  The  nurse,  with  the  other  in  her  lap,  was  sitting  on  the 
floor  groaning  and  swaying  back  and  forth,  and  holding  to  the  leg 
of  the  table.  One  tall,  swarthy  figure,  enshrouded  in  a  long  white 
robe,  and  a  red  night-cap  on  his  head,  from  under  which  hung  what 
looked  like  black  strings  (hair  dripping  wet),  stood  in  a  doorway  with 
arms  stretched  wide  holding  to  the  side  posts.  Another  crouched  in  a 
corner,  burying  his  face  in  his  hands,  his  streaming  hair  hanging  over 
them.  Another,  with  his  hands  behind  him,  leaned  his  back  against 
the  wall.  Another  lay  across  the  table.  The  one  dimly  burning  lamp 
hung  over  this  spectral  group.     Rembrandt's  Court  of  Death  did  not 

look  more  gloomy.     When  Captain  H came  down  for  Captain 

M ,  he  said  we  had  all  better  get  into  our  cabins.     The  water  was 

dashing  down  through  the  companion  way  into  the  saloon,  and  every- 
thing and  everybody  were  saturated.  I  thought  we  were  in  the  way 
where  we  were,  and  I  was  the  first  to  get  out  of  it.  We  were  all  shiver- 
ing, wet  and  cold  where  we  were,  and  all  had  to  go  into  well-saturated 
beds.  Groans  and  lamentations  were  heard  everywhere,  and  the  cries 
of  the  people  in  the  second  cabin  were  loud  and  prolonged.  We  had 
a  door  that  opened  from  ouf  cabin  into  it,  and  the  wringing  of  hands 
and  tearing  of  hair  of  the  women  were  not  pleasant  sounds  or  sights 
for  officers  or  crew. 

"AVhy,"  I  said,  "can  not  people  be  quiet  in  a  storm?  If  they  are  in 
danger,  by  being  quiet  they  are  the  more  likely  to  embrace  an  oppor- 
tunity to  save  themselves,  than  if  they  scream  and  cry,  and  make  dis- 
agreeable noises." 

The  sailors,  officers  and  masters  of  vessels  get  confused  in  tlicir  du- 
ties, when  cries  and  screams  assail  them  on  every  side.  Everything 
depends  on  the  cool  heads  and  willing  hands  of  master  and  crew  in 
times  of  peril,  and  those  who  can  be  of  no  use  had  better  far  be  out  of 

the  way  and  keep  quiet.    Captain  M had  not  a  cool  head,  nor  were 

there  willing  hands  to  carry  out  his  orders.    Though  we  had  not  struck 


I06  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

6n  a  sunken  rock,  we  were  in  momentary  danger  of  doing  so.  The 
drunken  captain  was  yelling  out  his  commands  with  oaths  to  his  men, 
when  Captain  H ■  sprang  to  the  helm  with  lightning  speed,  counter- 
manded the  orders  of  the  stupid  man,  turned  the  ship's  head  away  from 

the  dangerous  rocks,  on  which  she  was  swifdy  plunging.  Captain  M 

was  furious;  he  raved  and  swore  at  Captain  H ,  and  contradicted 

the  orders,  but  no  one  heeded  him.  The  sailors  knew  that  he  who 
was  at  the  helm  could  guide  the  ship,  and  they  obeyed  him. 

When  Mrs.  Sturt  lay  down,  she  remarked  that  I  was  very  quiet. 

"Are  you  afraid?"  she  asked. 

"Oh,  no,"  I  said,  "I  have  no  fear;  God  is  in  the  storm,  and  can 
take  care  of  us,  and  Captain  H is  at  the  helm,  and  if  it  is  in  hu- 
man power  to  save  us,  we  shall  be  saved." 

"You  do  not  know  the  danger  we  are  in,  or  you  would  not  be  so 
quiet  and  talk  so.     We  may  yet  be  lost,"  she  answered. 

I  said,  "I  know  our  danger  quite  well,  but  have  no  anxiety.    I  have 

faith  in  God,  and  confidence  in  Captain  H .    He  is  a  good,  sober, 

young  gentleman,  and  a  good  sailor."     My  confidence  in  Captain 

H was  not  misplaced.     I  was  perfectly  calm;  I  confided  in  my 

heavenly  Father's  protecting  care.  Had  I  felt  his  arm  about  me,  I  could 
not  have  felt  more  safe.  Our  little  ship  did  not  strike  a  sunken  rock, 
as  I  have  said,  though  she  was  among  them.  A  white  squall  had  over- 
taken, and  a  tremendous  sea  broke  over  her,  which  tore  away  her  bul- 
warks, and  swept  every  movable  thing  from  the  deck.  Our  sails  were 
rent  to  ribbons,  and  much  other  damage  was  done,  so  that  we  were  in 
danger  of  going  down  if  we  could  not  find  a  place  of  shelter  soon. 
The  charts  were  consulted,  and  our  nearest  port  of  safety  was  Preser- 
vation Bay.  There  we  could  find  shelter  till  the  storm  abated,  and  we 
could  repair  damages  sufiiciently  to  prosecute  our  voyage.     Captain 

M ,  about  half  sober,  was  belching  forth  his  orders  still,  and  had 

they  been  obeyed,  we  should  have  been  carried  right  into  the  jaws  of 

death.     Captain  H expostulated  with  the  master,  but  all  to  no 

purpose.     The  ship,  the  precious  souls  on  board,  and  the  valuable 

cargo  must  be  saved  if  possible,  and  Captain  H ,  backed  up  by 

Captain  Sturt,  kept  the  command. 

When  the  great  ocean  is  disturbed  it  forms  surface  waves,  which 
sometimes  are  of  great  magnitude.  Such  waves  have  been  measured, 
and  it  is  found  that  the  extreme  height  from  the  top  to  the  lowest  depth 
of  the  depression  has  been  nearly  fifty  feet,  their  length  being  from 
400  to  600  yards,  and   tlieir  rate  of  motion  half  a  mile  a  minute. 


FROM  NEW  SOUTH  WALES  TO  SOUTH  AUSTRALIA.  IO7 

When  a  storm  rises,  and  such  waves  break  over  a  ship's  side,  it  often 
happens  that  everything,  bulwarks  and  boats  and  men,  is  swept  with 
resistless  force  into  the  yawning  waters.  It  was  one  of  these  storm- 
waves  which  struck  and  broke  over  us,  and  caused  the  crashing  sound 
and  shaking  of  the  ship. 

Next  day,  when  I  went  on  deck,  I  hardly  knew  our  trim  little  vessel. 
She  reminded  me  of  a  bird  without  wings  trying  to  fly,  and  able  only  to 
waddle.     She  was  waddling  or  wallowing  through  the  water  at  a  poor, 

crippled  rate.     I  asked  Captain  H if  he  thought  we  could  reach  a 

place  of  safety  soon.  He  said  he  hoped  so,  but  told  me  not  to  be 
afraid.  I  told  him  I  had  no  fear  as  long  as  he  had  charge  of  the  vessel. 
He  navigated  our  little  ship  safely  into  a  large  bay,  land-locked,  or 
nearly  so,  without  damage  to  life  or  limb  of  any  on  board.  How  thank- 
ful we  all  were  to  Captain  H for  the  timely  and  prompt  measures 

tliat  he  took  to  save  us.  We  all  acknowledged  our  indebtedness,  under 
the  providence  of  God,  to  him  for  saving  our  lives.      But  Captain 

M swore  that  he  would  have  Captain  H tried,  when  we  reached 

Adelaide,  for  mutiny  on  the  high  seas.  This  was  a  fearful  charge,  mu- 
tiny being  a  capital  crime.    Captain  M reckoned  without  the  Hon. 

Charles  Sturt  &  Co.  The  said  Captain  Sturt  wrote  out  a  document, 
and  had  it  signed,  stating,  "That  the  schooner  John  Firie,  a  large 
number  of  passengers,  her  crew,  and  a  valuable  freight,  were  brought 
into  imminent  peril  through  the  neglect  and  drunkenness  of  the  master, 

Mr^  M ,     Nothing  could  have  saved  us  from  total  shipwreck  and 

loss,  but  the  watchful  care  and  prompt  measures  of  the  youthful  Cap- 

t^iji  H ,  at  a  time  when  Captain  M was  utterly  unfit  to  take 

care  of  himself,  much  less  the  ship  and  its  precious  human  freight.  We 
owe  the  saving  of  our  lives  and  all  we  had  on  board,  under  God,  to 

the  instrumentality  of  Captain  H ."     Captain  Sturt  showed  this 

paper  to  Captain  M ,  and  said : 

"If  you  put  your  threat  into  execution,  I  shall  have  this  paper  signed 
by  all  on  board,  and,  perhaps,  when  it  is  handed  into  court  at  the  trial, 
the  tables  will  be  turned." 

Captain  M was  extremely  angry,  but  said  no  more  about  a  trial 

for  mutiny.     He  said  afterward  that  he  was  only  in  sport  when  he 

threatened  Captain  H .    But  the  document  had  a  wonderful  power 

to  check  his  sportive  moods,  which  would  crop  out  every  now  and  then 

in  dark  looks  and  mutterings,  when  near  Captain  H ,  who  was  ever 

pleasant,  ever  cheerful,  conscious  of  having  done  his  duty  to  God  and 
man  in  an  hour  of  extremity,  when  tliere  was  no  time  to  think,  only 


I08  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

time  to  act.     I  look  back  through  all  the  years  since  that  memorable 

night,  and  thank  Captain  H for  his  intrepidity ;  but  he  has  long 

ago  gone  to  his  reward.     Those  who  had  a  part  in  that  midnight  tab- 
leau, in  the  darkened  saloon,  on  board  the  John  Firie,  have  all  gone 

but  three:    Mrs.   Sturt,  who  is  in  England;  Mr.  S ,  my  Baptist 

brother,  who  is  in  South  Australia,  and  myself,  now  in  America. 

We  anchored  in  Preservation  Bay,  which  is  of  considerable  size.  A 
range  of  high  hills  of  a  horse-shoe  shape  constitute  the  island,  bleak,  bar- 
ren and  desolate.  In  this  bay  lies  an  island  of  smaller  dimensions,  which 
is  named  Preservation  Island,  from  the  fact  that  seven  runaway  con- 
victs were  picked  up  here  by  Mr.  Bass,  in  a  most  deplorable  condition 
for  want  of  food.  They  had  been  left  by  their  companions  to  perish, 
but  were  discovered  and  taken  to  the  mainland.  As  the  whale  boat, 
in  which  Mr.  Bass  was  exploring,  was  too  small  to  give  all  the  men  a 
passage  to  Sydney,  he  could  only  take  two  back  with  him;  the  others 
he  put  on  the  mainland,  whence  they  could  reach  Sydney.  The  young, 
enterprising  navigator  discovered  Bass  Strait  on  this  voyage.  In  the 
year  1798,  he  left  Sydney  in  a  small  boat  with  six  men  and  six  weeks' 
provisions;  discovered  Bass  Strait,  rescued  seven  men  from  starvation, 
took  two  extra  men  in  his  boat,  and  returned  in  twelve  weeks;  but  he 
had  to  live  on  seals,  fish,  etc.  The  same  year  Lieutenant  Flinders  vis- 
ited this  island,  and  says: 

"Some  of  the  trees  on  Preservation  Island  had  partly  undergone  a 
peculiar  transformation.  The  largest  of  them  was  not  thicker  than  a 
man's  leg,  ajid  the  whole  were  decayed;  but  while  the  upper  branches 
continued  to  be  wood,  the  roots,  at  the  surface,  and  the  trunks,  up  to  a 
certain  point,  were  of  a  strong  substance  resembling  chalk.  On  break- 
ing these  chalky  trunks,  which  was  easily  done,  a  ring  of  brown  wood 
sometimes  appeared  in  them,  as  if  imperfectly  transformed,  but  in  the 
greater  number  nothing  more  than  circular  traces  remained.  The 
situation  in  which  these  trees  were  principally  found  is  a  sandy  valley, 
near  the  middle  of  the  island,  which  was  remarkable,  also,  for  the 
quantity  of  bones  of  birds  and  small  quadrupeds  with  which  it  was 
strewed." 

It  was  Mr.  Bass's  opinion  that  these  petrefactions  had  been  caused 
by  water. 

A  few  of  our  passengers  went  ashore  the  morning  after  we  an- 
chored. I  was  delighted  to  be  able  to  go  in  the  first  boat;  oth- 
ers were  to  follow.  Captain  Sturt' s  house  steward,  who  was  in 
the  second  cabin,  was  to  accompany  me,  but  as  soon  as  we  landed 


FROM  NEW  SOUTH  WALES  TO  SOUTH  AUSTRALIA.  I09 

I  released  the  old  man  from  dancing  attendance  upon  me,  and 
I  -went  on  an  exploring  expedition  on  my  own  account.  I  examined 
the  rocky  caves  along  the  beach,  and  gathered  shells  of  rare  beauty. 
When  tired  of  this,  I  clambered  up  a  high  hill  to  have  a  better  view 
of  the  island.  I  thought  it  was  uninhabited,  but  from  my  point  of 
observation  I  saw  curling  smoke  rising  from  a  hut  in  the  distance.  I 
also  saw  a  field  of  grain  fenced  in,  and  various  indications  of  human- 
ity and  life,  so  I  came  to  a  halt  in  my  explorations  till  other  explorers 
arrived.  I  sat  down  upon  a  rock  on  the  side  of  the  hill  next  the  bay 
to  read,  when  I  saw  a  boat  lowered  from  the  ship,  and  people  clam- 
bering down  into  it.  I  watched  its  progress  shoreward,  and  when  it 
touched,  I  bounded  down  the  declivity  to  meet  Captain  and  Mrs. 

Sturt,  Mr.  S ,  Captain  H ,  and  several  others.     I  told  them 

that  I  had  made  a  discovery,  viz.,  that  the  island  was  inhabited,  and 

I  did  not  know  it  when  I  landed.     Captain  H took  my  hand  and 

said : 

'•I  know  the  inhabitants;  come,  let  me  introduce  you  to  the  gov- 
ernor, or,  as  you  may  call  him,  Robinson  Crusoe  the  second,  as  you 
are  somewhat  romantic." 

We  walked  some  distance,  then  entered  a  rudely  built  hut;  but  the 
interior  was  neatly  arranged.  Here  an  old  man,  John  Monroe,  an 
old  sailor,  had  been  cast  away  on  these  shores,  and  had  lived  upon 
the  island  twenty-one  years,  nine  of  these  entirely  alone;  but  he  told 
me  that  he  got  his  black  Princess  Margery  from  New  Guinea,  married 
her,  and  brought  her  to  the  island  to  live,  and  they  had  been  very 
happy  together.  They  had  one  daughter,  a  very  bright,  intelligent 
girl,  who  could  read  and  write,  and  was  a  good  arithmetician.  She 
was  very  good-looking,  with  a  ruddy  brown  skin.  They  had  three  or 
four  little  boys.  A  bookshelf  was  well  filled  with  books,  and  a  Bible 
on  the  table,  well  worn.  Governor  Monroe  educated  his  children 
himself,  and,  under  the  circumstances,  they  did  him  credit.  The 
governor  had  quite  a  little  farm  and  garden ;  he  had  kids,  and  pigs, 
and  poultry  running  all  over  the  island.  Ships  like  our  own  have 
often  been  driven  into  this  bay  through  stress  of  weather,  and  in 
exchange  for  his  pigs  or  kids,  or  other  produce,  he  takes  sugar,  tea, 
seeds  and  clothing.  But  visitors  are  few  and  far  between;  for  the 
island  is  but  litde  known,  and  is  out  of  the  route  of  sea-going  vessels. 

We  found  a  strange  bird  on  this  island,  where  it  has  its  habitat.  It 
burrows  in  the  earth  like  a  rabbit;  then  lays,  one  or  two  enormous 
eggs,  and  hatches  and  brings  up  its  young  in  the  burrow.     It  is  called 


no  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

the  Sooty  Petrel,  better  known  out  at  sea  as  the  Sheerwater.  Gov- 
ernor Munroe  called  it  the  "Mutton  Bird."  In  the  evening  great 
flocks  of  these  birds  came  in  from  the  sea,  having  their  stomachs  filled 
with  a  gelatinous  substance,  gathered  from  the  waves,  and  this  they 
eject  into  the  throats  of  their  young,  or  retain  it  for  their  own  nutri- 
ment. The  mutton  bird  oil,  or  Sooty  Petrel  oil,  is  of  a  deep  red 
color,  obtained  by  pressure  from  the  stomach  of  the  young  bird.  It 
is  said  to  possess  a  healing  virtue  in  rheumatism,  and  it  burns  with  a 
clear  bright  light.  The  feathers  of  this  bird  are  used  for  pillows,  beds, 
cushions,  and  various  other  purposes.  The  profusion  of  feathers  with 
which  they  are  clothed  enables  one  to  find  the  greatest  quantity  in  a 
very  short  time.  The  flesh  is  considered  quite  a  dainty.  They  are 
about  the  size  of  a  pigeon,  and  when  skinned  and  dried  in  smoke  are 
good  eating.     For  my  own  taste  they  are  too  fishy.     They  are  easily 

caught.     I  saw  Captain  H thrust  his  arm  up  to  the  shoulder  into 

their  burrows  and  catch  several.  At  the  same  time  he  ran  a  great 
risk  of  catching  a  snake,  or  being  grasped  by  one  at  the  bottom  of  the 
holes,  as  these  venomous  reptiles  are  numerous  on  the  island,  and 
they  feed  upon  the  birds. 

The  island  is  covered  with  tall,  tufted  grass,  which  is  not  cul- 
tivated, but  grows  Avild.  The  island  rises  into  a  rounded  top  in 
the  middle  like  a  hemisphere,  with  the  flat  side  in  the  water 
and  the  convex  in  the  air.  On  top  of  this  convex  is  a  rookery 
right  in  the  center  of  the  island.  The  boulders  of  which  it  is  com- 
posed are  of  immense  size.  They  are  piled  up,  heap  on  heap,  and 
balanced  on  each  other.  They  look  as  if  a  brood  of  Titan  child- 
ren had  been  at  play  in  these  regions  and  were  frightened  away  in  the 
midst  of  their  employment,  and  ran  off  and  left  their  toys. 

Between  the  rookery  and  the  beach  I  saw  a  lone  grave  with  a  fence 
round  it.  On  inquiry,  I  found  it  to  be  that  of  a  black  woman  who 
had  been  bitten  by  a  snake,  and  died  in  four  hours  after.  This  hap- 
pened but  a  short  time  before  our  visit.  On  the  island  was  one  other 
man  and  his  black  wife.  They  had  been  here  about  two  years  with- 
out family.  We  had  a  pleasant  day  rambling  round  the  island  and 
seeing  the  sights.  At  night  we  saw  from  the  ship  a  most  brilliant 
spectacle  on  shore.  The  snakes  were  getting  too  numerous,  and  they 
had  to  be  burned  out.  The  tall,  tufted  grass  was  set  on  fire,  and  with 
speed  it  flew  across  the  island  from  sea  to  sea,  and  as  the  island  rose 
in  the  middle  and  declined  on  either  side,  the  flames  formed  an  arch 
of  fire,  which  was  a  glorious  sight,  blazing  in  front  of  the  dark  back- 


FROM  NEW  SOUTH  WALES  TO  SOUTH  AUSTRALIA.  Ill 

ground  of  distant  hills  which  surrounded  the  bay.  The  sky  reflected 
the  deepest  crimson,  and  gave  ship  and  sea,  and  all  on  board,  a  rosy 
hue.  Our  little  ship  was  being  put  to  rights  as  rapidly  as  possible, 
but  the  storm  spirit  was  still  abroad  on  the  face  of  the  waters,  and 
drove  another  ship  into  harbor.  It  was  The  Tanior,  from  Tasmania, 
with  Lady  Franklin  on  board,  going  to  Sydney  to  join  her  husband, 
Sir  John,  on  their  way  to  England.  Before  Sir  John  Franklin  went 
to  explore  the  Arctic  regions,  he  had  been  Governor  of  Tasmania,  and 
tliey  were  now  on  their  way  home  to  England.  The  Tamor  was  not 
so  dilapidated  as  our  unfortunate  vessel,  so  they  sailed  out  before  us. 
We  had  to  remain  two  weeks  at  anchor,  but  having  good  company,  I 
was  very  happy.  We  went  on  shore  every  day  and  hunted  for  kids, 
and  birds,  and  shells,  and  had  a  pleasant  time  generally.  In  the  very 
exuberance  of  life,  I  ran,  and  skipped,  and  jumped.  One  day  I  asked 
the  nurse  to  go  with  me  to  the  other  side  of  the  rookery  where  no  one 
would  see  us  and  run  a  race  with  me.  She  consented,  and  up  we 
went  and  poised  ourselves  on  top  of  one  of  the  boulders  at  the  lower 
side  of  the  rookery.  One,  two,  three,  and  away  I  sped  with  the 
speed  of  an  arrow,  off  the  rock,  down  the  hill,  on  and  on,  faster  and 
faster,  till  I  reached  level  ground.  There  I  was  stopped  suddenly  by 
a  strong  hand  taking  a  firm  grip  of  my  shoulder.     I  looked  around 

and  found  that  Captain  H had  hold  of  me,  and  the  nurse  was 

away  back  at  the  rookery.  I  looked  up  to  my  captor  for  an  explana- 
tion. He  told  me  just  as  the  nurse  and  myself  were  preparing  to 
start,  several  gentlemen  came  up  the  side  of  the  rookery  and  saw  us, 
and  also  saw  a  huge  black  snake,  a  most  deadly  reptile,  wriggling  toward 
us.  I  was  nearer  to  it  than  the  nurse,  and  as  the  ugly  creature  darted 
at  me,  I  gave  the  first  bound  off  the  boulder,  and  over  the  snake,  and 
away  past,  without  seeing  it.     The  nurse  saw  it,  screamed,  and  held 

back.     Captain  Sturt  asked  Captain  H to  follow  me  and  bring  me 

back.  I  knew  nothing  of  my  danger,  and  so  could  not  realize  my 
narrow  escape.  This  trifling  occurrence  was  talked  of  as  quite  an 
adventure. 

One  evening  I  was  being  left  on  the  island  all  night,  at  least  I 
thought  I  was.  All  the  passengers  had  gone,  and  I  got  to  the  shore 
in  time  to  see  the  last  boat  at  a  distance  from  the  shore,  I  called,  but 
they  did  not  heed  the  call.  I  was  greatly  troubled  I  was  getting  afraid 
—  for  the  sun  was  fast  approaching  the  western  horizon.  I  saw  the 
boat  after  discharging  her  freight  row  back  toward  the  shore.  I  could 
almost  have  cried  for  joy  when  Captain  H sprang  ashore  and 


112  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

helped  me  into  the  boat.     Oh,  I  was  so  thankful.     Captain  H 

had  seen  me  on  the  beach  waving  for  the  boat  to  come  back — he  was 
on  board  the  ship — and  as  soon  as  all  who  were  in  the  boat  were  on 
board,  he  came  for  me.  On  my  way  to  the  ship  I  saw  sharks  of  enor- 
mous size — white  sharks,  basking  sharks,  and  sharks  of  every  name — 
in  immense  nvmibers.  For  such  huge  fishes  they  are  graceful  and 
rapid  swimmers.  Their  long,  flexible,  cartilaginous  bodies  are  capable 
of  every  kind  of  swift  motion.  Our  sailors  caught  one  of  these  mon- 
sters one  day  with  a  side  of  bacon.  The  creature  swallowed  the  bacon, 
harpoon  and  all,  and  was  drawn  up  by  pulleys.  When  stretched  at 
full  length  upon  the  deck,  he  was  found  to  be  thirty  feet  long;  a  horrid, 

voracious  monster.     Captain  H took  an  ax  and  chopped  off  his 

tail  and  his  head.  Then  he  took  a  sheath-knife  and  cut  his  vertebral 
column  out  of  his  body,  first  cutting  down  one  side  and  then  the  other. 
Then  he  skinned  him  and  threw  his  carcass  overboard  to  his  brothers, 
who  devoured  him  in  a  very  short  time.  In  the  jaws  were  six  rows  of 
large,  strong  teeth,  pointed  like  saw-teeth.  When  the  jaws  were 
cleaned  a  man  put  them  over  his  head  like  a  hoop,  and  nowhere  did 
his  great  broad  shoulders  touch  the  jaws.  Mr.  Shark  could  easily  have 
swallowed  him  whole  without  making  two  bites  of  him.  The  white 
shark  [Squalus  canharius),  which  attains  twenty-five  to  thirty  feet  in 
length,  is  celebrated  for  its  ferocity.  Its  vast  mouth  is  furnished  with 
triangular  movable  teeth.     The  number  increases  with  age. 

Governor  Monroe  gave  me  a  great  number  of  beautiful  shells,  be- 
sides those  I  had  gathered  myself.  Princess  Margery  gave  me  a  string 
of  amber  beads  for  a  keepsake,  and  we  parted  on  excellent  terms. 
We  sailed  away  with  light  hearts  and  light  winds  from  this  romantic 
isle  of  the  sea,  which  lies  between  Tasmania  and  the  southern  point 
of  Australia,  at  the  entrance  of  Bass  Strait. 

The  remainder  of  our  voyage  was  pleasant  and  without  mishap.  It 
may  be  interesting  to  know  that  the  vessel  we  sailed  in  was  the  prop- 
erty of  the  South  Australian  Company,  of  which  company  David 
McLaren,  Esq. ,  was  manager,  to  whom  I  had  letters  of  introduction. 
Soon  after  our  arrival  at  Port  Adelaide  the  little  ship  changed  hands. 
Captain  H became  the  master. 

A  few  months  after  our  arrival  I  was  in  company  with  several  ship- 
masters, and  I  was  telling  them  of  the  remote  and  romantic,  and  also 
historic,  island.  One  of  these  sea-going  captains  who  had  been  to 
China  stoutly  denied  the  existence  of  Preservation  Island,  and  to  show 
the  others  present  that  no  such  island  was  known  to  navigators,  he 


FROM  NEW  SOUTH  WALES  TO  SOUTH  AUSTRALIA.  II3 

spread  out  a  chart  as  old  as  Dick  Hartog  and  pointed  with  triumph  to 
a  blank  space  on  its  face.     I  was  asked  if  I  saw  it  on  the  map  ? 

"No;  I  do  not  see  it,  because  it  is  not  there;  but  I  saw  it  and  trod 
on  it  at  the  entrance  of  Bass  Strait  from  the  Pacific.  It  was  not  dis- 
covered in  the  same  year  that  the  strait  was.  Mr.  Bass  in  1798  picked 
up  starving  men  from  the  island,  carried  them  across  the  strait,  and 
put  them  on  the  main-land,  and  took  two  to  Sydney  with  him. 
Preservation  Island  is  where  I  say,  and  if  fifty  charts  were  spread 
out  before  me,  and  it  was  not  represented  on  any  of  them,  I  would 
still  say  it  is  there,  because  I  had  the  witness  of  my  own  senses,  besides 
other  witnesses  of  importance." 

I  thought  I  should  not  like  to  be  in  a  ship  in  a  storm  if  this  ignorant 
master  was  in  command.  I  have  met  with  many  such  men  who 
doubt  everything  that  comes  not  within  the  scope  of  their  own  expe- 
rience. 

South  Australia  lies  between  West  Australia  on  the  west,  and  Vic- 
toria on  the  east;  and  it  extends  to  the  i4ist°  east  and  to  i32d°  west 
longitude;  and  on  the  south  to  the  Southern  Ocean.  This  colony  is 
penetrated  by  two  large  gulfs  on  the  south — Spencer's  and  St.  Vincent's 
gulfs.  The  former  is  fifty-five  miles  wide  at  its  mouth,  and  widens  in 
some  places  to  100  miles.  It  is  about  230  miles  long.  The  latter  is 
130  miles  long,  and  forty  miles  wide  at  its  mouth. 

The  city  of  Adelaide  is  for  the  most  part  on  two  hills  of  limestone, 
the  rest  on  fine  clay  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Vincent, 
about  seven  miles  from  the  sea,  and  about  the  same  distance  from  a 
beautiful  range  of  hills  that  make  a  splendid  background  to  the  pic- 
ture. Mount  Lofty  is  the  highest  point  in  the  range.  It  lifts  its  lofty 
head  2,400  feet  above  the  sea  level.  Adelaide  is  divided  into  two 
unequal  parts  by  the  river  Torreus  (called  by  the  natives  Yatula).  In 
summer  it  is  but  a  succession  of  deep  pools,  linked  together  by  a  nar- 
row, shallow  stream;  but  in  the  winter  it  is  a  torrent,  sweeping  down 
from  the  hills  where  it  rises,  to  a  swamp  near  the  gulf,  where  it  loses 
itself.  The  sand-hills,  and  the  reflected  light  and  heat  from  the  sun, 
were  very  disagreeable  to  us  as  we  landed,  but  the  excitement  of  pre- 
paring for  a  drive  of  seven  miles  kept  us  too  busy  to  think  much  of 
things  disagreeable.  The  road  to  Adelaide  is  over  a  plain  of  great 
beauty,  covered  with  grass,  with  trees  here  and  there ;  but  the  hills,  the 
beautiful  hills,  with  their  dappled  sides,  were  the  principle  charm. 
When  we  reached  Adelaide,  we  found  that  the  house  that  had  been  pre- 
8 


J 14  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

pared  for  our  reception  had  burned  to  the  ground  just  before  our  land- 
ing; so  we  had  no  house  to  go  to.  Government  House  would  have 
opened  its  doors  to  receive  us,  but  it  was  only  a  little  hut,  constructed 
of  mud  put  between  laths,  supported  by  uprights  of  native  wood,  and 
covered  with  thatch.  It  contained  three  rooms— a  dining-room,  a 
reception-room,  and  a  pantry.  In  the  plan  of  this  house  fireplaces 
were  left  out,  or  forgotten,  for  not  a  single  fireplace  was  in  the  house. 
A  chimney  and  fireplace  had  to  be  added  close  to  the  front.  But  we 
must  not  forget  that  the  architect  was  a  sailor,  who  thought  he  could 
rig  up  a  house  as  well  as  a  topmast,  and  would  have  no  interference 
with  his  work.  Governor  Gawlor  and  lady  slept  in  a  tent.  As  Gov- 
ernment House  could  not  take  us  in,  we  had  to  pitch  our  tents  else- 
where. But  as  a  real  frame-house  had  been  built  and  burned  for  us, 
we  had  provided  no  tents,  and  we  were  indebted  to  the  Hon.  G.  M. 

S ,  a  bachelor,  for  vacating  his  dwelling  to  give  us  shelter  for  the 

time  being,  and  we  were  all  packed  away  very  snugly. 

Next  day  being  Sunday,  I  proposed  going  to  church.  This  pro- 
posal was  vetoed  by  those  in  authority.  I  persisted,  and  said  I  must 
go.  Be  it  remembered  I  had  but  the  one  dress  in  which  I  left  Sydney 
more  than  a  month  before,  and  it  was  faded  by  the  sea  air,  and  a  good 
deal  worse  for  wear;  my  boots  and  bonnet  were  in  keeping.  On 
leaving  the  church  a  tall,  beautiful  and  elegantly  dressed  lady  put  her 
hand  gently  upon  my  shoulder  and  said : 

"You  are  a  stranger  here." 

I  looked  up  into  her  sweet,  smiling  face,  and  said: 

"Yes." 

She  asked  me  where  I  came  from  ? 

"Sydney,"  I  answered. 

Just  then  I  saw  Mr.  S ,  my  fellow  voyager,  coming  toward  us, 

with  Mr.  McLaren,  to  whom  I  was  introduced  as  having  come  recently 
from  Scotland.  The  greeting  was  all  that  a  sensitive  heart  could  wish; 
it  was  cordial  and  fatherly. 

The  sweet  voice  that  first  greeted  me  asked  me  to  go  home  with  her 

to  dinner.     Mr.  McLaren  and  Mr.  S also.     I  then  thought  of  my 

singular  appearance,  and  modestly  said  : 

"I  can  not  go.     I  have  no  fitting  dress  on." 

She  smiled  one  of  her  sweet  smiles. 

"You  are  not  ashamed  to  come  to  church  as  you  are,  and  you  need 
not  be  to  dine  Avith  me,"  she  said. 

I  told  her  I  had  no  other  garments  here  than  what  I  had  on.     I  had 


FROM  NEW  SOUTH  WALES  TO  SOUTH  AUSTRALIA.  1 1  5 

left  all  of  my  trunks  in  Sydney,  but  I  could  not  stay  away  from  church 
on  account  of  a  shabby  dress. 

"Neither  need  you  stay  from  my  dinner-table.     Come,"  she  said. 

And  I  went. 

She  was  no  respecter  of  persons,  and  I  loved  her  then  and  always. 
She  and  her  husband  were  both  young,  handsome  and  rich,  and  both 
members  of  the  Baptist  Church ;  and  they  were  my  friends  as  long  as 
they  remained  in  the  colony.  I  found  in  Mr.  McLaren  a  true  friend. 
He  said  he  would  be  a  father  to  me  as  long  as  he  was  in  the  colony. 

"Whatever  troubles  you,  come  to  me,  I  will  give  you  counsel  and 
help." 

Here  I  found  a  father,  a  sister  and  brothers  in  the  church,  given  to 
me,  as  Christ  had  promised  to  give  to  those  who  had  forsaken  father, 
mother,  sisters  or  brothers  in  this  life  for  him. 

The  South  Australian  Company  was  a  great  commercial  company 
formed  in  England,  with  George  Fife  Angas  for  Chairman.  It  liad  a 
capital  of  ;^5oo,ooo  sterling.  It  had  sheep  and  cattle  stations,  farms, 
banks  and  other  industries.  Mr.  McLaren  managed  all  the  colonial 
affairs  of  the  company.  As  a  business  man  he  was  apt.  He  was 
spoken  of  as  "manly  in  his  decisions,  urbane  in  his  manners,  and  all 
united  to  a  glowing  piety.  He  was  one  of  the  best  and  most  enlight- 
ened defenders  of  South  Australia.  He  did  honor  to  his  country  and 
to  his  Christianity,  also  to  the  company  whose  interests  he  represented 
in  the  colony." 

As  I  have  said,  no  convicts  have  landed  or  shall  ever  land  on  the 
shores  of  South  Australia.  The  colonists  might  make  tliemselves  rich 
rapidly  by  having  cheap  convict  labor,  but  they  are  willing  to  forego 
this  privilege  to  keep  their  children  free  from  the  contamination  cf 
such  characters. 

Adelaide  is  laid  out  on  a  grand  scale — wide  streets  running  at  right 
angles,  some  130  feet  wide,  some  100,  and  the  narrowest  sixty  feet 
wide.  There  are  reserved  in  the  center  a  space  for  a  square,  and 
spaces  for  squares  not  so  large  in  other  parts  of  the  city.  The  city 
has  terraces  north,  south,  east  and  west;  also,  all  round  the  city  a  belt 
of  woodland  500  yards  wide,  forming  a  beautiful  drive  of  about  seven 
miles,  with  splendid  views  of  the  clear  and  open  sea  on  one  side. 
This  ground  plan,  though  grand,  has  yet  to  be  filled  up,  not  with  trees 
as  at  present,  but  with  houses,  to  show  us  where  the  streets  are  to  be. 
As  it  is,  we  have  to  walk  through  a  dense  forest,  from  one  terrace  to 
another,  with  here  and  there  a  frame  or  mud  cottage  as  a  landmark. 


Il6  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

The  people  live  chiefly  in  tents,  or  under  tarpaulins  stretched  on  poles. 
Some  have  frame  cots  covered  with  cloth,  these  frames  having  been 
made  in  England  and  brought  out  by  their  owners,  and  fastened  to- 
gether and  covered  with  cloth.  They  rest  upon  wheels,  and  can  be 
moved  easily  from  place  to  place.  Others  have  huts  built  of  mud  and 
grass,  others  of  rushes  and  brushwood. 

This  country  is  antipodal  to  Scotland,  consequently  when  it  is  sum- 
mer here  it  is  winter  in  Great  Britain,  and  vice  versa.  December, 
January  and  February  are  the  hot,  dry  summer  months.  June,  July 
and  August  are  our  rainy  winter  season.  They  say  this  country  has 
a  fine,  healthy  climate.  As  I  have  not  been  one  year  from  Scotland, 
I  am  not  able  to  say  much  about  it,  only  at  times  I  feel  the  heat  almost 
intolerable.  So  I  wrote  to  friends  forty  years  ago  about  the  new  city. 
Great  and  mighty  changes  have  been  wrought  since  then. 

Captain  Sturt,  in  the  year  1831,  discovered  the  Murray  River,  and 
that  it  drained  the  western  parts  of  Queensland  and  New  South  Wales, 
and  the  rivers  flowing  west  did  not  empty  into  an  inland  sea,  as  former 
explorers  thought,  but  into  the  Murray,  which  bore  him  and  his  party 
on  its  tranquil  bosom  to  the  Lake  Alexandrina,  and  on  through  it  to 
the  Southern  Ocean  at  Encounter  Bay.  The  land,  lying  between  the 
river  Murray  and  the  Gulf  of  St.  Vincent,  was  described  by  him  as 
being  very  suitable  for  founding  a  province.  He  strongly  recommended 
this  measure,  as  the  country  looked  rich  and  fertile.  He  was  unable, 
through  exhausted  strength,  to  examine  it  carefully,  and,  therefore, 
thought  that  the  fruits  of  his  great  labor  were  to  be  lost  to  him,  when 
he  was  about  to  grasp  them.  But  he  was  mistaken  in  this.  The  course 
of  events  has  abundantly  shown  that  man  is  often  shortsighted.  In  six 
short  years  from  the  time  Captain  Sturt  sailed  down  the  Murray  River 
to  the  sea,  a  province  had  been  planted  on  the  very  soil  he  had  recom- 
mended, without  hope  of  ever  seeing  it.  A  great  company  was  formed 
in  England,  and  sent  out  their  Colonial  Manager  and  emigrants  in  their 
ship  Duke  of  York.  The  ship  landed,  and  the  manager  was  the  first  to 
set  foot  in  the  new  Province  of  South  Australia,  27th  of  July,  1836. 
The  company's  barque,  Lady  Mary  Felham,  arrived  on  the  30th  of  July, 
and  their  ship,  John  Firie,  in  August,  and  their  ship.  Cygnet,  with  pro- 
visions and  stores,  on  the  nth  of  September.  So  the  first  three  ships 
that  arrived  were  the  company's,  and  they  were  followed  five  months 
later  by  the  Buffalo,  with  the  Governor.  Meantime,  those  who  had 
landed  first  had  no  Government,  no  law  whatever;  nevertheless,  they 
were  not  lawless.    His  Majesty's  Ship  Buffalo  arrived  at  Holdfast  Bay, 


FROM  NEW  SOUTH  WALES  TO  SOUTH  AUSTRALIA.  1 1  7 

December  28,  1836,  and  on  the  same  day  His  Excellency  landed,  es- 
corted by  a  company  of  marines,  accompanied  by  other  officials  v.ith 
their  families.  They  were  received  by  the  gentlemen  who  had  arrived 
before  them,  and  who  had  pitched  their  tents  on  the  unknown  wilds  of 
South  Australia.  "His  Excellency  met  the  other  members  of  Council 
in  a  tent  of  the  Colonial  Secretary.  The  orders  in  Council,  erecting 
South  Australia  into  a  British  Province,  and  appointing  the  colonial 
officers,  were  read,  as  also  Captain  Hindmarsh's  commission  as  Gov- 
ernor and  Commander-in-chief.  The  customary  oaths  were  taken  by 
the  Governor,  members  of  Council  and  other  officers.  The  Commis- 
sioners afterward  read  the  orders  to  the  settlers,  of  whom  about  three 
hundred  were  present;  the  British  flag  was  unfurled  under  a  royal  sa- 
lute; a  cold  collation  was  eaten  in  the  open  air;  His  Majesty's  health 
drunk;  the  national  anthem  sung,  and  the  circumstances  under  which 
it  was  sung  had  more  grandeur  in  its  simplicity,  than  those  who  have 
heard  it  in  other  circumstances  could  conceive."  And  thus  a  province 
was  born. 

The  colony  was  a  little  over  three  years  old  when  we  arrived. 
Colonel  Light,  the  first  Surveyor  General,  was  dead,  and  a  monument 
had  been  raised  to  his  memory  in  Light's  Square.  Captain  Sturt,  the 
discoverer  of  the  Murray  River,  and  its  embouchure  in  the  beautiful 
lake  he  named  for  Princess  Victoria  Alexandrina,  now  our  Queen,  had 
come  to  succeed  Colonel  Light,  as  Surveyor  General.  "Ships,  from 
England,  and  the  other  colonies,  with  ready  made  houses,  bedsteads 
made  of  iron,  and  tents  and  stores  of  every  kind,  and  people  of  every 
grade  and  trade,  are  arriving  here.  I  think  this  will  be  a  great  country 
by  and  by."  Thus  I  wrote.  Governor  Gawlor  succeeded  Governor 
Hindmarsh,  who  had  been  recalled. 

The  gendemen,  as  well  as  the  ladies,  dressed  in  white,  which  I  have 
always  thought  suitable  for  a  hot  climate,  and  though  it  looked  strange 
to  me  at  first,  I  admired  it. 

The  captain  gave  a  bachelor's  party  to  his  friends  sometimes,  when 
they  enjoyed  themselves  much.  On  one  occasion  he  gave  a  party, 
and  Judge  Cooper,  a  fine  old  English  gentlemen,  a  bachelor,  was  there, 
and  as  the  hou.se  had  been  enlarged,  and  a  black  man  (American)  had 
been  installed  as  cook,  the  parties  were  very  pleasant.  It  so  happened 
that  Judge  Cooper  rode  his  sister's  pony,  and  while  the  gentlemen 
were  enjoying  their  after-dinner  wine,  I  went  out  to  the  yard,  mounted 
Ponto,  asked  the  cook  to  open  the  gate  for  me,  and  away  I  scampered, 
unwitting  where  I  went.     Through  the  woods,  and  through  the  woods 

\ 


Il8  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

we  ran.  The  cool  evening  breeze  fanned  my  cheek  and  brow,  and 
my  hair  fluttered  in  the  wind;  the  bright  moon  hung  like  a  globe  of 
light  out  from  the  clear,  blue  sky;  the  tall  forest  trees  were  bending 
and  bowing  to  each  other  most  gracefully,  and  the  light,  fleet  pace  of 
the  pony  made  my  moonlight  ride  the  most  enjoyable  I  had  ever  had. 
I  was  not  far  from  home,  when  I  saw  a  figure  in  the  moonlight  walk- 
ing leisurely  toward  the  house;  he  seemed  to  enjoy  his  walk,  as  much 
as  I  my  ride,  under  the  leafy  canopy.  I  rode  away  past  him,  till  I 
thought  it  time  to  return  home.  I  turned  the  pony's  head  for  that  pur- 
pose, and  gave  the  little  fellow  the  reins ;  but  he  seemed  long  in  getting 
to  our  starting-place.  He  brought  me  up  right  in  front  of  a  house,  and 
when  I  looked  at  it,  lo!  it  was  Judge  Cooper's  house,  and  Ponto, 
knowing  he  was  at  home,  began  to  neigh.  I  was  somewhat  alarmed 
at  this,  and  I  could  not  get  Ponto  away  from  the  gate.  He  struggled 
to  get  to  his  stable  most  energetically;  I  as  stoutly  tried  to  get  him 
away  from  the  gate.  I  succeeded,  but  had  a  long  distance  to  go,  and 
I  did  not  know  the  way  through  the  forest,  and  there  was  no  path.  I 
took  what  I  thought  was  the  right  direction,  and  found  myself  at 
another  house,  at  another  end  of  the  city.  I  took  a  fresh  start  in  a 
straight  line  for  home,  and  again  I  found  myself  astray.  I  was  quite  lost; 
I  was  afraid  I  should  have  to  wander  about  ajl  night.  I  was  becoming 
seriously  alarmed,  when  I  came  to  another  fence,  which  I  was  afraid  to 
leave,  though  I  did  not  know  it.  I  hesited  what  to  do,  when  I  heard 
a  gate  click,  and  a  man  came  out.  What  a  joyful  surprise,  when  I  saw 
Conner's  black  face.  I  was  at  home,  but  did  not  recognize  the  sur- 
roundings, I  was  so  bewildered. 

"Where  am  I,"  I  asked  Conner.     He  grinned,  and  said: 

"Why  Miss,  ye  is  at  home." 

He  said  for  me  to  make  haste,  the  judge  had  called  for  the  pony. 
I  dismounted,  and  went  into  my  own  room.  I  heard  the  captain's 
laugh  when  asking  the  judge, 

"What  is  the  matter?" 

"I  can  not  find  my  stirrup,  and  Ponto  is  in  a  bath  of  perspiration," 
says  the  judge. 

"Oh,  here  is  your  stirrup,"  said  the  captain,  laughing,  "and  there 
is  nothing  the  matter  with  Ponto.  I  think  that  last  wine  you  drank 
has  taken  your  head,  judge."     The  judge,  very  demurely,  then  said: 

"  I  shall  drink  no  more  of  your  heady  wine,"  and  rode  slowly  away. 

As  soon  as  he  was  gone,  the  captain  called  for  me,  and  bade  me 
give  an  account  of  myself,  which  I  did.     I  was  not  afraid  of  him,  he 


FROM  NEW  SOUTH  WALES  TO  SOUTH  AUSTRALIA.  Up 

was  always  kind  and  indulgent.  He  laughed  very  heartily  at  my  pre-_ 
dicaments,  but  advised  me  to  take  no  more  moonlight  rides  on  a  gen- 
tleman's saddle  with  both  stirrups  on  one  side.  The  gentleman  whom 
I  had  seen  walk  toward  the  house  was  the  Colonial  Surgeon,  who  was 
going  to  eat  desert  with  the  company.  He  told  them,  as  soon  as  he 
sat  down,  that  he  had  seen  a  wood-nymph  flying  through  the  forest  on 
a  swift-footed  animal;  she  had  flowing  robes  and  waving  hair,  and 
seemed  to  enjoy  her  ride.  He  was  laughed  at  for  his  poetic  fancy. 
The  judge  had  called  for  his  pony,  as  he  wished  to  leave  early.  The 
captain  went  to  Conner,  and  asked  for  the  pony,  but  the  pony  could 
not  be  found. 

"Then  where  is  Eliza?"  queried  the  captain. 

"She  is  with  the  pony,"  said  Conner. 

That  was  enough.  The  judge  was  entertained  a  little  longer;  again 
Ponto  was  called  for,  but  Ponto  had  not  made  his  appearance.  At 
last  the  captain  became  uneasy  about  me,  and  had  sent  Conner  out  to 

look  for  me,  and  he  found  me  outside  the  fence  quite  lost.    Dr.  N , 

ever  after,  called  me  the  "wood-nymph,"  and  all  the  other  gentlemen, 
who  were  at  the  party,  for  the  captain  told  all  of  them  of  my  exploit  in 
losing  myself,  teased  me  a  great  deal  about  my  moonlight  ride  on  the 
judge's  pony,  and  they  advised,  that  when  I  wanted  to  take  a  moon- 
light ride  again  to  let  them  know,  and  I  might  choose  an  escort. 

I  had  quite  a  family  of  pets.  I  had  a  cow,  two  pretty  little  pigs,  a  cat, 
and  a  kangaroo  rat  which  the  captain  caught  in  the  bush  and  brought 
home  to  me.  When  the  cat  gave  it  chase,  it  would  leap  upon  my 
shoulder  for  protection.  It  was  very  tame  and  a  great  pet,  and  quite 
a  curiosity.  It  had  the  smallest  fore  feet  and  legs  I  had  ever  seen  for 
the  size  of  the  body;  the  tail  and  hind  legs  were  large  and  long,  and 
he  did  not  walk,  only  hopped  and  leaped.  My  pet  cow  fell  down  a 
very  deep  well  one  day,  and  broke  her  bones;  after  a  great  deal  of 
difficulty  she  was  hoisted  up,  but  had  to  be  killed  to  put  her  out  of 
pain.  My  two  pet  pigs  grew  too  big  to  be  fed  out  of  my  hand,  and 
they  were  sent  away  to  the  farm.  My  pet  cat  killed  my  pet  rat,  so  I 
lost  all  my  pets.     I  lost  the  inclination  to  have  pets  after  that. 

I  fainted  from  the  heat  one  day,  the  thermometer  standing  at  140°  in 
the  sun.  I  was  a  long  time  unconscious.  Mrs.  Sturt  was  very  much 
alarmed  for  me.  The  hot  winds  were  dreadful,  and  the  dust  smother- 
ing; the  sand-flics  were  blinding,  and  the  mosepiitoes  were  savage. 
Strangers,  in  a  new  country,  have  much  to  contend  with.  I  pity  the 
poor,  who  have  to  fight  through  every  kind  of  difficulty  ere  they  can 


120  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

find  comfort.  But  sober  perseverance  and  sustained  effort  work  wonders. 
A  gentleman,  t:  member  of  the  Baptist  Church,  walked  home  with 
me  one  Sunday,  and  we  passed  his  dwelling,  which  was  a  tent.  His 
wife,  who  was  a  confirmed  invalid,  with  two  children  and  himself, 
lived  happily  under  the  canvas.  I  had  passed  this  tent  often,  when 
going  or  coming  from  church;  it  was  one  of  my  landmarks,  but  I  did 
not  know  that  a  Baptist  brother  lived  there.  I  was  glad  to  have  this 
good,  kind  brother's  company  on  the  way,  he  was  both  guide  and  pro- 
tector. Mr.  McLaren  sometimes  walked  home  with  me.  It  was  a 
long  time  ere  I  could  find  places,  and  get  home  without  being  lost.    In 

passing  Mrs.  B 's  tent,  I  always  had  a  few  friendly  words  with  her, 

as  she  seldom  saw  or  spoke  to  any  one  outside  of  her  own  family,  and 
the  children  were  always  glad  to  see  me. 


CHAPTER  V. 

AN   EXPLORING   EXPEDITION. 

A  PARTY  was  being  organized,  and  preparations  being  made,  to 
conduct  an  exploring  expedition  up  the  Murray  River,  and  across  the 
country  from  the  great  Northwest  Bend  of  the  river  toward  the  Gulf 
of  St.  Vincent,  a  portion  of  the  continent  not  yet  explored,  but  which 
Captain  Sturt  noticed  in  his  former  trip  down  the  Murray.  Governor 
Gawlor  had  invited  him  to  conduct  this  expedition  with  him,  and  they 
thought  it  would  be  politic  to  take  their  wives  with  them.  Captain 
Sturt  told  me  that  I  was  to  take  up  my  quarters  at  Government  House 
until  they  returned.     At  this  arrangement  I  demurred. 

"What!  do  you  object  to  going  to  Government  House  ?"  I  was  asked. 

"No,"  I  said;  "but  would  much  rather  go  with  you." 

"What!  go  among  the  savages  and  be  killed  and  eaten  by  them? 
You  would  be  a  tempting  little  morsel  for  them." 

This  was  rather  startling  to  be  sure;  but  then  I  said: 

"Captain  Sturt,  if  you  take  me  I  know  that  you  will  take  care  of 
me,  and  not  let  them  either  kill  or  eat  me.  I  have  faith  in  your  pro- 
tectmg  care,  and  I  have  no  personal  fear." 

"Well  said,  brave  little  girl;   you  shall  go,  as  you  are  so  courageous." 

I  heard  a  conversation  between  high  officials,  from  which  I  learned 
that  the  policy  of  taking  ladies  with  them,  and  bringing  all  back  in 
safety,  would  insure  a  readier  sale  of  land  in  England.  Capitalists 
would  not  fear  the  savages  when  ladies  had  traversed  the  country  in 
safety.  Lake  and  river  shores  and  banks  were  to  be  examined  to  as- 
certain their  capabilities.     I  told  Mr.  McLaren  and  Mr.  B that  I 

was  going  on  the  expedition,  but  I  had  a  feeling  or  presentiment  that 
all  would  not  be  well  with  the  party.  I  was  not  superstitious,  but  still 
I  wished  these  two  good  men  to  pray  for  me,  that  all  might  be  well 
with  my  soul,  whether  I  lived  or  died.  Mr.  McLaren,  who  was  a  Cal- 
vinistic  Baptist,  said: 

"Your  soul  is  safe." 

I  parted  with  these  two  good  men  feeling  confident  that  they  would 
commend  me  to  God  in  their  prayers.     I  told  Captain  Sturt  of  the 

(121) 


122  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

Strange  presentiment  that  I  had  about  the  party.     He  said,  if  I  feared 
anything  I  had  better  stay  at  the  Government  House.     I  told  him  I 
had  no  personal  fear.     So  no  more  was  said  on  that  subject.     We  ■ 
made  our  preparations.     Mrs.  Gawlor  preferred  sending  her  daughter 
on  the  expedition  to  going  herself,  and  she  remained  at  home.     This 
arrangement  pleased  me,  for  Miss  Julia  was  about  my  own  age,  and 
we  would  be  company  for  each  other.     The  canteen  was  filled  with 
every  requisite.     The  common  acceptation  of  the  word  canteen,  is  a 
tin  vessel  for  soldiers  to  carry  liquor  in,  a  kind  of  flask.     Our  canteen 
was  a  different  kind  of  article.     It  was  a  large,  square,  strong  wooden 
box,  with  trays  and  compartments,  all  filled  with  tableware,  dishes, 
plates,  glasses,  knives,  forks,  spoons,  salt  and  pepper  casters,  a  break- 
fast set  of  china,  a  spirit  lamp,   cooking  apparatus,  table-cloths  and 
napkins.     In  fact,  everything  that  was  needed  at  breakfast,  dinner  or 
tea-table,  or  kitchen,  was  packed  in  this  wonderful  box.     It  seemed 
an  impossible  thing  that  all  the  delf  that  I  saw  spread  out  with  glass, 
china,  silver,  etc. ,  etc. ,  could  be  put  into  this  inclosure,  and  I  watched 
the  packing  with  deep  interest.     When  one  tray  after  another  was 
filled,  and  everything  neatly  placed  and  shut  out  of  sight,  I  said, 
"Truly,  this  is  a  more  wonderful  box  than  Pandora's." 
We  were  all  in  high  glee  when  we  started  from  Adelaide  one  beau- 
tiful morning  in  November  on  our  expedition.     We  were  all  armed 
and  provisioned.     In  every  way  our  appointments'were  perfect.     The 
wagons  and  bullock  drays  were  loaded  with  tents,  beds,  bedding  and 
baggage  of  every  kind  suitable  for  the  occasion.     These  went  on  be- 
fore us.    The  Governor's  carriage  took  His  Excellency,  Miss  Julia,  and 
Captain  and  Mrs.  Sturt  in  it.     The  horse's  were  impatient  of  delay, 
and  were  pawing  and  prancing,  ready  and  more  than  willing  to  start. 
I  was  in  a  light  dog-cart,  and  was  driven  "tandem"  with  driver  and 

postillion.      Captain  Inman  of  the  mounted  police,  and  Mr.  F • 

another  officer  of  mounted  police,  and  Mr.  Bryan,  one  of  the  govern- 
or's aids-de-camp,  were  my  escorts.  The  governor's  carriage  was 
accompanied  by  his  suite  on  horseback,  all  fully  accoutred.  We  started 
off  in  splendid  style,  bright  and  happy.  But  alas!  we  did  not  all 
come  back,  nor  come  back  in  like  manner. 

We  had  a  splendid  day,  a  good  road  and  fine  horses ;  so  we  trav- 
eled on,  chatting  cheerily.  Mr.  Bryan  was  a  young  Irish  gendeman, 
full  of  good-natured  wit.  We  were  great  friends ;  he  kept  me  laugh- 
ing all  the  time,  and  the  time  seemed  short  on  this  pleasant  first  day 
out.     We  pitched  our  tents  at  Willunga,  a  litde  town  in  its  infancy. 


AN  EXPLORING  EXPEDITION,  I23 

beautifully  situated  at  the  foot  of  a  range  of  picturesque  hills,  about 
thirty  miles  from  Adelaide.  Here  were  encamped  a  party  of  sappers 
and  miners.  From  here  we  were  to  start  next  morning  on  horseback. 
The  carriage  was  sent  back,  it  being  of  no  further  use.  My  horse 
took  sick  that  I  was  to  ride,  so  I  had  to  ride  "tandem"  the  second 
day ;  but  such  a  ride !  Next  morning  before  the  sun  appeared  in  the 
east,  we  were  ready  to  resume  our  journey.  We  were  a  pleasant,  at 
least,  we  were  a  pleased,  party.  The  morning  was  fine  and  we  started. 
Near  the  Willunga  is  a  conical  hill,  called  Mount  Terrible,  and  over 
the  very  summit  of  this  cone  we  had  to  go.  The  equestrians  were 
ahead  of  me,  and  when  I  looked  up  to  them  they  seemed  to  be  at 
the  head  of  an  almost  perpendicular  ladder.  And  this  almost  perpen- 
dicular obstacle  had  to  be  surmounted.  It  had  been  familiarly  called 
Break  Neck  Hill,  on  account  of  the  great  number  of  bullocks  whose 
necks  had  been  broken  in  trying  to  cross  it.  My  little  carriage  had 
to  go  zigzag,  first  to  the  right,  and  then  to  the  left,  but  this  would 
have  been  impossible  had  the  wheels  on  the  lower  side  of  the  carriage 
not  been  lifted  up  and  carried  while  the  upper  ones  rolled  on  the 
ground.  It  was  a  most  dangerous,  as  well  as  a  most  difficult  ascent, 
but  we  reached  the  top  with  no  broken  bones.  We  had  surmounted 
one  great  difficulty  only  to  face  another  greater.  Rain  began  to  fall, 
not  in  drops,  but  in  sheets;  and  down  the  hillside  rushed  the  roaring 
waters.  All  on  a  sudden  the  sky  lowered  and  darkened,  and  in  the 
gloom  and  blinding  rain,  the  descent  was  far  more  difficult  than  the 
ascent.  But  we  had  to  go  down,  down,  and  the  horses  slipped  and 
fell,  and  I  had  a  narrow  escape  from  being  rolled,  horses,  carriage  and 
all,  over  and  over,  down  and  into  a  deep  gully  filled  with  rushing, 
roaring  water  at  the  foot  of  the  hill.  As  it  was  I  was  tumbled  out  on 
the  hillside  in  a  hurry.  I  scrambled  to  my  feet,  but  would  not  get 
into  the  dog-cart  again.  I  preferred  to  walk  down  rather  than  roll 
down.  This  side  of  the  hill  was  covered  with  tall  kangaroo  grass, 
coarse  and  stiff  and  strong,  and  it  reached  my  shoulders.  I  had  to 
push  my  way  through  this  stiff,  wet  grass.  The  rain  was  still  pouring 
down.  I  was  drenched  to  the  skin.  I  had  a  long  traveling  cloak  on, 
but  my  hands  became  so  cold  and  numb  that  I  could  not  hold  it  around 
me,  so  I  let  it  go,  and  it  si)read  like  a  carpet  on  top  of  the  tall,  wet 
tufts  of  grass,  merely  bending  the  heads  and  shaking  out  the  water 
they  contained  all  about  me,  making  me  still  more  uncomfortable. 
Down  and  on  I  went,  Mr.  Bryan  helping  me  with  one  hand  and  lead- 
ing his  horse  with  the  other.     This  was  an  impossible  task,  for  the 


124  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

horse  slipped  and  fell,  and  slipped  again,  and  so  required  all  his  master's 
care.  We  reached  the  bottom  of  the  hill  only  to  look  in  dismay  upon 
the  gully,  the  depth  and  width  of  the  rushing,  roaring  waters  making 
it  appear  an  impossibility  to  cross  it.  The  equestrians,  all  but  Bryan, 
had  crossed  the  stream  ere  it  rose  so  high.  I  could  not  be  persuaded 
to  get  into  the  dog-cart  to  cross,  so  it  crossed  without  me.  When  half 
way  over,  it  stuck  fast  in  the  mud  at  the  bottom,  and  Mr.  Bryan's 
horse  was  fastened  to  the  foremost  horse  of  the  dog-cart,  and  so  by 
main  force  they  pulled  it  out.  Then  came  the  wagon  with  tents,  and 
we  wished  to  get  this  across  ere  we  left  the  place,  as  the  valuable  sur- 
vey instruments  were  in  it,  and  it  took  all  the  seven  horses  in  our  party 
to  get  the  wagon  across.  The  bullock  dray  had  to  wait  till  the  water 
subsided  ere  it  could  cross.  While  all  this  crossing  was  going  on  I 
was  sitting  in  the  rain,  shivering  with  cold.  Isaac,  my  driver,  was  a 
tall,  strong  man,  and  he  said  he  must  carry  me  across,  there  was  no 
other  way.  So  he  lifted  me  in  his  arms,  no  great  weight  of  myself, 
but  my  saturated  garments  and  the  great  heavy  cloak  made  a  consid- 
erable weight  to  carry  across  the  muddy,  rushing  torrent.  The  water 
reached  Isaac's  waist.  When  he  was  about  half  way  over,  he  stumbled 
and  nearly  fell,  but  he  soon  recovered  his  foothold  and  carried  me 
across  in  safety.  I  was  lifted  into  my  little  dog-cart  dripping  wet  and 
chilled  to  the  bones.  We  were  long  delayed,  and  the  day  was  wear- 
ing on  apace.  We  entered  a  forest  of  stringy  bark  trees,  and  traveled 
through  this  some  time,  till  we  came  to  a  great  sandy  basin,  lying 
between  Willunga  and  Currency  Creek. 

"This  basin  is  gloomy  and  sterile,  and  is  a  most  remarkable  feature 
in  the  geology  of  the  province.  At  an  elevation  of  700  feet  above  the 
sea  level,  it  is  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  stony,  rugged  hills,  except 
the  south  and  southeast,  in  which  direction  it  falls  into  Currency  Creek 
and  Hindmarsh  Valley  respectively.  Mount  Magnificent,  Mount  Com- 
pass and  Mount  Jagged  rise  in  isolated  groups  in  different  parts  of  the 
basin.  Its  soil  is  pure  sand,  its  surface  is  undulating,  and  in  many 
parts  it  is  covered  with  stunted  banksias,  through  which  it  is  difficult  to 
force  one's  way  while  riding  along."  Thus  spoke  Captain  Sturt  on 
horseback;  and  what  must  it  have  been  to  one  riding  in  a  four-wheeled 
dog-cart,  with  two  horses,  each  trying  to  go  his  own  way,  through  this 
unbroken  wilderness  of  scrub.  The  banksias  is  a  numerous  tribe,  with 
peculiar  flowers  of  various  colors  and  shaped  like  a  bottle-brush.  From 
tlie  quantity  of  honey  they  contain,  they  are  popularly  called  honey- 
suckles.    They  are  stunted,  crooked  and  deformed;  the  trunk,  as  well 


AN  EXPLORING  EXPEDITION.  I  2$ 

as  the  branches,  crook,  and  turn  into  sharp  elbows.     A  whole  tree 
does  not  give  two  feet  of  straight  timber. 

"What  is  that  tree  good  for?"  I  exclaimed,  when  I  came  bump 
up  against  one,  and  nearly  upset.  Hundreds  of  miles  from  that 
spot,  and  years  after  I  had  asked  the  question  in  impatience  and  dis- 
gust, I  received  an  answer.  I  visited  a  ship-building  yard,  where  I 
saw,  piled  up  high,  these  objectionable  knees  or  elbows  of  the  banksias. 
I  asked  for  what  purpose  they  were  there.  I  remembered  the  ugly, 
stunted  things.  I  was  told  that  these  elbows  were  most  valuable  in 
boat  and  ship  building.  So  I  thought  God  does  not  even  make  these 
ugly  things  in  vain.  Another  tree  grew  in  this  gloomy  basin,  which, 
if  not  so  ugly,  was  equally  in  my  way,  and  obstructed  my  progress.  It 
was  the  grass  tree  {hauthorrhed) ,  which  has  a  flower  like  a  bulrush. 
The  tufts  of  this  grass  grew  on  hillocks,  and  between  the  clumps  the 
hollows  were  filled  with  water,  and.  when  the  wheels  of  my  vehicle 
would  be  up  on  one  side,  they  would  dump  down  on  the  other ;  no 
sooner  would  the  wheels  be  lifted  out,  than  thump  they  would  go 
against  a  tree,  and  the  cart  would  shake  as  if  it  Avould  fall  into  pieces. 
I  had  to  hold  on  for  dear  life,  but  I  got  so  many  bumps  and  bruises, 
and  was  so  numbed  and  chilled  with  cold,  I  could  not  hold  on  any 
longer.  I  had  to  be  strapped  to  the  seat,  to  prevent  my  being  thrown 
out  and  killed.  As  it  was,  my  face  was  cut  and  bleeding,  and  my 
knees  very  much  bruised  by  the  dash-board.  Every  bump  I  received,  I 
thought  my  back  was  broken  or  my  limbs.  The  rain  did  not  cease  all 
day,  and  the  cold  was  intense.  I  often  wished  that  day  that  I  had  been, 
like  the  others,  in  side-saddle.  The  day  was  drawing  to  a  close,  and 
I  was  completely  exhausted.  The  sun  went  down,  and  all  was  dark 
and  dreary.  I  saw  a  great  fire  far  down  below  us,  at  a  great  distance; 
it  was  the  camp-fire  lit  up  for  a  beacon,  to  guide  us  on  our  dark  way. 
We  began  to  descend  into  the  valley  of  Currency  Creek,  which  was 
very  difficult,  as  well  as  dangerous,  under  the  circumstances.  When 
we  reached  our  destination  for  the  night,  I  was  unstrapped  and  lifted 
to  the  ground;  but  I  had  lost  all  use  of  my  limbs,  I  could  not  stand, 
and  fell  prone  on  the  ground.  I  was  carried  and  set  on  a  log  near  the 
fire,  which  was  blazing  at  a  fierce  rate,  and  which  fizzed  and  sputtered 
as  the  rain  poured  on  it,  but  blazed  on  all  the  same.  Mrs.  Sturt  sent 
for  me  as  soon  as  she  heard  of  my  arrival.  They  were  all  in  the  dining- 
tent,  and  as  I  sat  on  the  log  in  the  rain  before  the  fire,  I  tried  to  un- 
fasten my  boots.  I  could  not  stoop.  I  managed  to  raise  my  foot 
to  my  knee,   but  could  not  get  it   down  again.       I   seemed   petri- 


126  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

fied.  Of  course,  I  could  not  go  to  the  dining- tent  when  the  man  came 
for  me-  I  had  to  be  carried  to  my  sleeping  tent,  and  laid  down  on  the 
floor.  Mrs.  Sturt  and  Miss  Julia  came  to  me,  helped  to  undress  me, 
and  put  me  to  bed,  where  I  lay  three  days  unable  to  move. 

A  camp  of  coast  surveyors  were  at  Currency  Creek,  waiting  to  take 
our  party  up  the  river  in  their  boats.  Captain  Pullen,  who  was  in  com- 
mand, had  ordered  a  plentiful  supply  of  game,  such  as  cockatoos,* 
kangaroos,  f  parrots  and  parroquets,  and  dampers. 

The  night  before  we  left  Currency  Creek,  I  was  peering  out  into  the 
darkness,  trying  to  distinguish  the  road  I  had  come  rattling  down, 
between  rocks  and  rain,  on  the  night  of  my  arrival.  The  height  from 
which  I  came  loomed  in  black  relief  against  the  sky,  but  no  road 
was  discernible.  Around  the  blazing  fire,  which  sent  up  into  the  dark- 
ness long,  flickering  tongues  of  flame,  which  seemed  to  devour  the 
night,  sat  a  number  of  men.  Some  were  talking  about  the  probabilities 
of  the  expedition,  whether  success  or  failure  would  be  the  result;  others 
were  preparing  supper,  amongst  other  things  a  large  damper,  the  mak- 
ing of  which  interested  me  much,  as  I  had  never  heard  of,  or  seen,  one 
before.  It  is  a  loaf  of  bread,  kneaded  on  a  coarse,  canvas  bag,  spread 
on  the  ground.  The  ingredients  are  flour,  water  and  salt.  The  burn- 
ing, embers  of  a  watch-fire  are  scraped  to  one  side,  and  the  heated 
ground  scooped  in  a  hollow  to  the  depth  of  five  or  six  inches,  and 

*The  cockatoo  is  as  large  as  a  hen,  and  it  is  seen  in  large  flocks;  some  of  them 
are  pure  white,  and  some  pure  black.  Those  of  each  color  have  rose  colored 
crests,  with  wings  and  tails  lined  with  tlie  same  bright  tint.  They  have  also 
sulphur-colored  crests  and  tails,  and  wing-linings  of  the  same  delicate  hue.  They 
are  beautiful  birds,  but  their  screech  is  ear-piercing.  Their  flesh  is  tough,  and 
not  most  pleasant  to  eat. 

tThe  kangaroo  is  a  marsupial,  ungulated  mammal,  and,  when  born,  is  very 
imperfectly  formed ;  but  the  mother's  pouch  serves  as  a  lodging-place  for  the 
young,  until  they  are  perfectly  developed.  They  hang  on  to  the  mother's  teats 
till  they  are  able  to  leap  about,  and  are  covered  with  hair,  and  can  f-ed  on  other 
food  than  milk.  For  a  long  time  after  they  can  leave  this  pouch,  they  fly  back 
to  it  as  a  place  of  refuge,  when  any  danger  threatens.  They  are  herbivorous,  and 
have  no  canine  teeth,  but  a  long,  vacant  space  between  the  incisors  and  molars. 
The  incisors,  several  in  number,  are  in  the  upper  jaw.  They  are  placed  with 
rodents,  but  they  also  chew  the  cud,  like  ruminants.  They  are  placed  with  un- 
gulated animals,  but  have  only  the  middle  toe  of  the  hind  foot,  which  is  very 
large,  covered  with  a  horny  substance  resembling  a  hoof.  This  is  their  weapon 
of  defense,  and  they  inflict  terrible  wounds  on  the  kangaroo  dogs  that  hunt  them. 
They  are  remarkable  for  their  small  fore  paws,  short  legs  and  narrow  shoulders, 
and  their  long,  large,  hind  legs  and  tail,  upon  which  they  sit  vertically,  as  on  a 
tripod.  With  the  help  of  their  great  tail  and  their  legs,  they  leap  along  at  a 
great  rate.  "The  Old  Man,"  or  giant  kangaroo,  can  clear  a  space  of  between 
twenty  and  thirty  feet.  He  stands  six  feet  high.  The  hind-quarters  only  are 
used  for  food,  as  his  flesh  is  very  coarse  and  tough.  His  great  tail  makes  very 
good  soup. 


AN  EXPLORING  EXPEDITION.  1 27 

about  two  feet  in  diameter.  Within  this  hole  is  placed  the  half-kneaded 
mass  of  water,  flour  and  salt,  which  is  made  to  fit  the  concave,  primi- 
tive oven,  the  hot  coals  are  raked  over  it,  the  fire  is  replenished,  and 
the  process  of  baking  goes  on.  When  this  mass  of  dough  is  sufiiciently 
cooked,  the  coals  are  withdrawn,  and  the  bread  taken  from  its  hot  bed, 
besmeared  with  dirt  and  ashes,  and  dotted  with  cinders.  It  was  far 
from  looking  a  tempting  article  of  food.  As  I  watched  the  process  of 
making  and  baking  this  loaf  with  a  degree  of  interest  that  amused  the 
baker,  he  asked  me  what  I  thought  of  it.  He  was  delighted  with  his^ 
success,  but  I  coolly  replied,  that  I  did  not  know  what  to  think,  only  it 
did  not  look  fit  to  eat,  and  I  turned  away  into  the  tent,  while  he  mut- 
tered : 

' '  I  hope,  ere  you  get  home,  you  will  be  glad  to  eat  worse  than  that, 
Miss."     The  wish  was  not  very  good-natured,  but  it  was  realized. 

I  was  sitting  in  the  dark  tent  alone,  thinking  of  what  I  heard  the  men 
say  of  our  expedition,  when  I  was  startled  by  a  long,  low,  melancholy 
howl,  such  as  I  had  never  heard  before.  What  could  it  be  ?  Captain 
Sturt  told  me  that  the  howl  I  heard  was  that  of  the  dingo,  or  native 
dog.  This  animal  is,  by  some  naturalists,  considered  a  feral  dog;  that 
is,  a  dog  that  has  become  wild.  He  has  been  partially  reclaimed  by 
the  native  savages,  but  this  is  not  a  sufficient  reason  for  assuming  that 
he  has  been  introduced  by  man,  or  by  his  instrumentality.  If,  as  other 
naturalists  say,  he  is  indigenous  to  Australia,  then  nature  has  made*  a 
diversion  in  his  favor,  and  given  him  a  variety  of  colors,  though  red- 
dish brown  is  the  usual  one.  The  wild  dingos  are  larger  and  more 
ferocious  than  the  partially  domesticated.  When  confined,  they  neither 
howl,  growl,  or  bark;  they  are  mute.  When  prowling  in  freedom, 
they  have  a  most  melancholy  howl.  They  prowl  around  sheepfolds  at 
night,  and  kill  as  many  sheep  as  they  can  catch.  Their  bite  is  so 
severe,  that  few  who  are  bitten  recover.  They  devour  domestic  dogs, 
and  are  more  daring  than  wolves.* 

The  morning  dawned  and  the  camp  was  all  astir.  The  sun  rose 
upon  the  fourth  day  of  our  encampment  at  Currency  Creek,  and  we 
were  all  ready  to  resume  our  journey.  We  had  a  short  distance  to  go 
ere  we  reached  the  mouth  of  the  creek,  where  were  Captain  Pullen 

*The  length  of  its  body  to  the  tail  is  forty-two  inches,  tnil.  twelve  inches.  The 
eyes  are  near  the  nose,  only  tliree  and  a  half  inches  a]>art;  the  head  is  small  for 
the  size  of  the  body.  It  lias  a  long,  straight,  bushy  tail.  This  animal  is  the  only 
species  of  true  carnivora  in  New  Holland.  The  Colonial  Government  has  offered 
five  shillings  for  every  male,  and  seven  shillings  for  every  female,  in  hopes  to  ex- 
terminate them.     The  race  will  probably  soon  di-appear. 


128  CHE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

and  his  twelve  coast  surveyors,  with  three  large  whale-boats,  and  a  gig 
was  ready,  waiting  for  us  to  step  in  and  sail  up  the  Murray  River. 
Our  tents,  tarpaulins,  trunks  and  other  baggage  were  all  packed  into 
the  wagons  and  sent  by  land,  and  the  horses  which  had  no  riders  were 
led.  Captain  Sturt  took  possession  of  the  gig.  His  Excellency, 
Mrs.  Sturt,  Miss  Julia  and  myself  were  in  a  whale-boat  under  an 
awning.  The  two  ladies  sat  with  their  backs  to  the  stern  of  the  boat, 
the  governor  and  I  sat  opposite  to  each  other  at  the  side  of  it.  Cap- 
tain Pullen  was  the  coxwain  or  steersman.  As  the  boats  sailed  on 
the  rough  and  restless  waters  of  the  Goolwa  Channel,  which  connects 
Encounter  Bay  to  the  Lake  Alexandrina  (Captain  Pullen  had  succeeded 
in  taking  a  small  cutter  from  seaward  into  this  channel,  afterward  called 
Port  Pullen  in  honor  of  this  achievement),  we  looked  toward  the  sea 
mouth  of  the  Murray,  which  has  ever  been  a  famous  spot  for  tragical 
events.  No  one  could  look  on  the  foaming  waters  of  that  wild  line 
of  sand-hills,  through  which  it  has  forced  a  channel,  without  a  feeling 
of  awe.  Directly  open  to  the  Southern  Ocean,  the  swell  that  rolls 
into  Encounter  Bay  is  fearfully  heavy.  The  breakers  rise  to  the  height 
of  fifteen  or  eighteen  feet  before  they  break  or  burst  in  one  unbroken 
line  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach.  Mrs.  Sturt  and  Miss  Julia  both 
claimed  the  honor  of  being  the  first  white  female  on  the  Murray — one 
the  wife  of  the  Surveyor  General,  the  other  the  governor's  daughter. 
I  could  not  claim  relationship,  but  I  put  in  a  claim  to  be  the  first  on 
the  river,  as  I  was  the  width  of  myself  nearer  to  the  bows  of  the  boat 
tlian  they,  and  of  course  farther  up  stream  than  they.  We  laughed 
at  our  disputed  claims.  But  no  one  can  dispute  the  claims  of  the  trio 
to  the  honor  of  being  the  first  party  of  white  females  on  the  limpid 
waters  of  the  lower  River  Murray.  There  was  a  strong  south  wind 
blowing,  the  waters  were  very  rough  and  I  was  sea-sick;  but  I 
could  not  lie  down.  The  second  day  I  made  an  exchange  with  Cap- 
tain Sturt.  He  laughed  at  my  being  sea-sick,  but  made  the  gig  com- 
fortable for  me  to  lie  down. 

The  second  evening  from  Currency  Creek  we  landed  on  the  shores 
of  the  beautiful  Lake  Alexandrina.  The  governor  and  the  others 
landed  before  me  and  were  away  up  on  the  knoll,  hidden  from  view 
by  a  belt  of  tall  reeds  that  lined  the  shores  of  the  lake.  When  the 
gig  drew  up  to  the  shore,  I  rose  up  in  order  to  land,  but  Avhat  was  my 
terror  and  horror  to  see  on  the  margin  of  the  lake,  between  the  reeds 
and  the  water,  on  each  side  of  the  boat,  a  line  of  painted  savages, 


AN  EXPLORING  EXPEDITION.  1 29 

armed  with  spears,  waddies  and  towerangs.     I  screamed  and  cowered 
down  in  the  boat. 

"Oh,  how  can  I  land  and  get  past  them?"  was  my  low,  frightened 
cry. 

Two  young  gentlemen  took  my  hands  and  said: 
"Come,  we  will  guard  you." 

All  had  landed  by  this  time,  and  when  I  rose  a  second  time  to  land 
an  avenue  of  men  was  formed,  and  the  reeds  held  back,  so  that  I 
could  easily  make  my  way  up  to  the  knoll.  When  I  sprang  from  the 
bows  of  the  boat  upon  the  reedy  ground,  I  felt  the  sharp  points  of 
the  broken  reeds  cut  my  boots,  and  pierce  my  feet,  and  give  me  pain, 
but  the  yell  that  escaped  the  throats  of  these  nude  savages  was  so 
terrific  that  my  flying  feet  hardly  felt  pain  or  touched  the  ground  till  I 
reached  Captain  Sturt's  side.  The  savages  were  still  yelling  and  beat- 
ing on  their  towerangs  with  waddies.  I  had  never  seen  savages,  and 
their  yells  frightened  me.  I  looked  up  to  Captain  Sturt's  face  to  be 
reassured.     He  put  his  hand  on  my  head  and  said : 

"Eliza,  you  have  nothing  to  fear  from  these  savages,  they  will  not 
hurt  you;  they  have  given  you  a  right  royal  welcome.  You  are  the 
first  white  creature  with  petticoats  they  ever  saw." 

I  feared  and  disliked  these  painted  savages  all  the  same.  They  had 
seen  our  boats  on  the  water  and  ran  to  where  tfte  first  landed,  and 
were  in  time  to  see  me  land.  So  Mrs.  Sturt  and  Miss  Julia  missed 
the  honor  of  the  royal  welcome  that  I  had  the  horror  to  receive.  We 
pitched  our  tents  amidst  a  tribe  of  the  fiercest  savages  that  roamed 
the  forests,  and  the  policy  of  conciliation  was  humane  as  well  as  safe. 
The  governor  was  a  kind.  Christian  gentleman,  and  took  every  pains 
to  show  these  wild  men  of  the  woods  his  protecting  care.  He  ordered 
from  the  stores  we  carried  with  us,  blankets  and  shirts  to  be  given 
them.  Some  of  them  had  three  or  four  old  shirts  given  to  them,  and 
these  they  put  on  all  at  one  time.  Captain  Sturt  had  seated  some  of 
them  on  the  ground,  and  the  governor  was  showing  them  the  use  of 
the  fishing  line  and  hook.  At  another  spot  our  white  tents  were 
gleaming  in  the  sunshine.  At  still  another,  sat  a  group  of  our  people 
under  a  sail  which  was  stretched  over  the  oars  of  a  boat,  with  several 
savages,  and  our  black  I5ob,  who  was  our  interpreter.  They  were 
talking  and  gesticulating  at  a  great  rate.  On  -a  rock  above  me  sat,  in 
solitary  grandeur,  a  grim  savage,  with  a  shirt  on  and  a  white  cocka- 
too's feather  in  his  hair.  He  sat  aloof,  alike  from  his  own  tribe  and 
the  white  invaders,  watching  with  scowling  brow  and  malignant  eye 
9 


130  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

their  every  act.  I  drew  near  to  this  statue-like  figure.  I  scanned  his 
features  closely,  but  he  deigned  not  to  notice  me.  He  had  coarse, 
frizzy  black  hair,  not  wool,  standing  away  from  his  head  like  a  som- 
brero or  mop;  his  forehead  was  so  low  that  his  hair  and  eyebrows 
nearly  met,  his  head  receded  from  front  to  back,  so  that  his  head  be- 
hind was  enormous  in  size;  his  eyes  were  large,  black,  deep-set,  glit- 
tering and  fierce,  and  overhung  by  beetling,  shaggy  brows ;  his  nose 
was  large  and  flat;  his  mouth  huge,  with  gleaming  teeth;  his  lips 
thick  and  hanging.  While  he  sat  on  that  rock  motionless,  he  was  a 
picture  of  ugliness  that  fascinated  me,  but  when  he  moved  his  great 
glittering  orbs  from  one  side  to  the  other,  showing  nothing  but  the 
white,  and  moved  his  thick  lips,  I  felt  sick,  as  if  he  were  about  to  tear 
me  to  pieces  and  eat  me.  I  turned  from  looking  at  his  demon-like 
ferocious  countenance  to  contemplate  a  more  pleasing  picture.  Cap- 
tain Sturt  had  said  that  the  country  around  this  magnificent  lake  was 
one  of  the  richest  and  most  highly  favored  spots  on  the  face  of  the 
earth.  He  was  correct,  for  more  beauty  could  not  be  seen  in  any 
country  than  here.  The  beautiful  lake  spread  out  like  a  sea  be- 
fore me,  rippling  and  shimmering  in  the  sunshine,  and  it  was  sur- 
rounded by  extensive  flats,  covered  with  tall  forest  trees,  mostly  euca- 
lypti. In  the  background  rises  the  Mount  Barker  Range  in  all  its 
grandeur.  The  lake  covers  an  area  of  2,000  square  miles,  and  its 
widely  extended  shores  consist  of  a  rich  alluvial  soil.  Captain  Sturt 
said  the  lake  was  very  shallow,  and  in. the  far  future  may  be  filled  up; 
and  the  river  that  empties  into  it  may  be  confined  to  a  narrow  bed, 
pursuing  its  course  through  a  rich  and  extensive  plain. 

I  was  amused  at  the  group  of  savages  around  the  governor.  He 
was  showing  them  various  objects.  His  watch  seemed  to  interest  them 
greatly;  but  they  were  alarmed  at  a  box  of  lucifer  matches;  they 
thought  the  fire  was  produced  by  magic.  Savages  are  all  superstitious, 
and  these  practice  sorcery  to  a  very  great  extent.  They  thought, 
however,  that  they  were  outmatched  by  matches. 

The  Australian  man  has  amusements  unlike  those  of  the  South  Sea 
Islanders.  His  food  does  not  spring  spontaneously  from  the  ground; 
'he  has  to  hunt  and  fish  to  get  his  food.  He  practices  throwing  the 
'spear  and  the  boomerang,  so  as  to  be  expert  in  catching  fish  and  game. 
The  boomerang  is  a  wonderful  weapon  in  the  hands  of  the  savage.  It 
is  made  of  very  hard  wood.  It  is  about  twenty  inches  long  and  about 
three  broad  in  the  middle.  It  tapers  at  each  end,  and  is  shaped  like 
•the  diagram  ^^\.     The  dexterity  and  precision  with  which  it  is 


AN  EXPLORING  EXPEDITION.  I3I 

thrown  by  these  Blacks  is  a  marvel  to  the  whites.  They  hurl  it  so  as  to 
strike  the  object  at  a  distance  of  over  one  hundred  yards,  and  it  can  be 
thrown  so  as  to  return  to  the  thrower.  They  can  make  it  describe  a 
circle  round  a  tree  and  strike  a  looker-on.  This  singular,  simple- 
looking  weapon  is  found  only  among  the  Australians,  and  it  has  ex- 
cited the  wonder  of  all  Europeans.  It  is  no  less  strange  than  true, 
that  white  men  have  never  learned  to  make  or  throw  the  boomerang, 
though  they  have  made  the  attempt. 

No  doubt  music  hath  charms  to  soothe  the  savage.  One  of  our 
partv  had  a  flute,  and  after  frightening  these  fierce  denizens  of  the 
woods,  excited  their  curiosity,  and  finally  quieted  and  subdued  their 
excitement,  and  they  were  seemingly  charmed  listeners  to  the  dulcet 
strains. 

The  savages  had  been  well  entertained  by  the  whites,  and  they 
returned  the  civility  by  showing  us  their  war-dance.  It  is  seen  to 
best  advantage  at  night,  so  this  was  the  time  selected.  Kangaroo  skins 
were  rolled  up  tight  and  placed  before  the  old  men  and  boys.  I  saw 
no  women,  though  they  are  usually  the  musicians.  A  tattoo  was  beat 
on  these  skins  with  the  fists  for  music  for  the  dancers,  who  also  chanted 
in  time.  Fires  were  lighted  at  regular  distances  in  rows,  four  rows 
with  four  fires  in  each.  These  were  the  preliminaries.  There  were  two 
parties  of  savages,  one  painted  white  the  other  red.  They  were  nude, 
with  long  white  or  red  stripes  down  their  arms  and  legs  and  across 
their  ribs:  their  faces  and  heads  painted  with  white  and  red  ochre, 
were  hideous.  Spears,  waddies  and  towerangs  were  their  weapons 
(a  waddy  is  a  knotted  club  about  twenty-four  inches  long;  a  towerang 
is  a  small  bark  shield).  In  this  terrific  garb  the  men  were  arranged 
on  each  side  of  the  fires.  One  of  each  party  advanced,  a  red  one 
and  a  white  one,  toward  each  other,  struck  waddies,  sang  and  gestic- 
ulated, and  kept  time  to  the  music  made  on  the  skins.  Another  pair 
advanced,  struck  and  crossed  spears,  then  struck  the  towerangs. 
Another  pair  advanced,  and  another,  till  all  had  entered  the  lists. 
Then  was  pandemonium  let  loose;  nothing  could  be  more  horrible. 
The  glittering  eyes  rolled  around,  showing  little  but  the  whites;  their 
huge  mouths  were  wide  open,  and  their  teeth  were  gleaming,  and 
their  big  red  tongues  were  hanging  out.  Their  disgusting,  hideous 
gestures;  their  skeleton-like  bodies  leaping  over  and  around  the  fires 
with  their  terrific  yells,  are  things  never  to  be  forgotten  if  once  wit- 
nessed. When  they  had  finished  their  horrible  fiendish  dance,  they 
marched  up  with  the  measured  tramp  of  the  warrior.     Whilst  I  stood 


132  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

spell-bound  with  horror,  looking  at  the  disgusting  scene,  I  felt  some- 
thing grip  my  foot  with  a  tight  grasp.  I  was  greatly  excited  by  what  I 
saw  before  me,  and  when  I  felt  my  foot  firmly  clutched,  I  screamed 
and  staggered  back,  and  would  have  fallen  back  had  not  the  governor 
caught  me.  He  and  Miss  Julia  were  behind  me.  He  asked  me 
what  was  the  matter.  I  told  him  something  had  hold  of  my  foot. 
His  Excellency  was  inclined  to  doubt  it  at  first,  but  immediately  he 
touched  my  arm  with  one  hand,  while  the  other  pointed  to  an  object 
wriggling  in  the  grass  toward  the  fires,  where  the  dancers  were.  I  saw 
the  wriggling  animal,  but  could  not  say  what  it  was  until  it  reached  the 
fires,  when  it  rose  to  the  height  of  a  man,  and  then  squatted. 
"Oh!"  I  exclaimed,  "it  is  one  of  those  painted  savagesl" 
And  it  was  one,  who,  unseen  by  us,  had  left  his  party  and  crawled 
up  to  where  we  stood,  gripped  my  foot  and  crawled  back  to  his  place 
again.  The  governor  saw  the  hideous  creature  crawling  before  I 
screamed,  but  took  no  notice  of  him  till  after. 

This  same  savage  made  Encounter  Bay  Bob  his  friend,  and  by  some 
means  was  concealed  on  board  one  of  the  boats  and  sailed  two  days 
ere  he  was  discovered.  He  was  made  use  of  as  an  interpreter  between 
the  Murray  Blacks  and  Bob,  and  Bob  interpreted  to  the  whites.  The 
dialects  of  the  Murray  tribes  differ  from  each  other  very  much,  and 
we  made  good  use  of  Bob  and  Tommy,  as  the  lake  savage  was  dubbed. 
Tommy  had  some  old  shirts  given  to  him,  which  he  wore,  one  on  top 
of  the  other,  to  the  number  of  six,  with  great  delight,  but  inconven- 
ience. He  doffed  them  when  he  got  into  the  boat,  but  he  had  to  don 
them  when  he  went  ashore  for  the  night.  Tommy  accompanied  us 
to  the  Northwest  Bend.  At  the  great  bend  might  be  seen  one  day, 
for  the  first  time,  a  camp  of  white  invaders.  Around  the  camp-fire 
were  several  men  preparing  kangaroo  stew,  and  cockatoo  pie  and 
damper,  while  a  large  pot  hung  over  the  fire,  with  a  dark  liquid  boil- 
ing cheerily.  The  liquid  was  tea,  prepared  by  putting  a  quantity  01 
tea  into  a  pot  of  water  and  letting  it  boil  till  all  the  strength  was  boiled 
out,  the  blacker  and  bitterer  the  better.  Then  it  was  put  into  a  tea- 
pot and  served  up  to  a  few,  while  the  rest  dipped  in  their  tin-cups  and 
drank.  Another  group  of  men  were  lounging  on  kangaroo  skins 
reading,  being  sheltered  from  the  sun  by  a  wagon.  Another  group, 
two  ladies  and  two  gentlemen,  stood  in  front  of  a  marquee,  between 
this  group  and  the  river.  Under  a  eucalyptus  tree  of  magnificent 
proportions  lay  a  solitary  girl  reading,  nor  thought  of  danger  near.     A 


AN  EXPLORING  EXPEDITION.  I33 

few  yards  behind  her  was  a  savage  with  a  waddy  in  his  hand,  moving 
toward  her  with  stealthy  step. 

"Ehza,  quick  here!"'  rang  out  on  the  still  air. 

I  sprang  to  my  feet  in  an  instant,  ran  toward  the  place  whence  the 
voice  came,  wondering  what  was  the  matter.  On  my  way  up  I  met 
black  Tommy,  who  glared  at  me  with  a  most  horrible  expression.  I 
dodged  on  one  side  to  get  past  him;  he  dodged  to  the  same  side  and 
stopped  me,  and  patted  me  under  the  chin  with  his  great  black  paw. 
Oh,  what  an  odor!  When  I  reached  the  serious-looking  group  at  the 
tent-door,  Miss  Julia  came  near  to  me,  while  her  father  said : 

''I  called  you  to  tell  you  that  black  Tommy  has  fallen  in  love  with 
you,  and  wants  you  for  a  lubra,  and  has  followed  you  from  the  lake, 
without  our  knowing  his  intentions  till  just  now.  Pie  has  been  to  all 
the  men  in  the  camp,  and  asked  them  if  you  were  their  lubra  or  pican- 
iny,  and  as  no  one  claimed  you  for  wife  or  child,  he  thought  his  way 
was  dear  to  knock  you  on  the  head  with  a  waddy,  and  carry  you  away. 
He  is  a  bold  schemer,  but  we  think  he  must  have  had  some  encour- 
agement from  the  men,  or  he  would  not  have  gone  so  far;  however, 
this  will  be  looked  into.  Meantime,  you  must  never  leave  the  tent 
without  a  guard.  There  are  plenty  of  young  men  who  will  gladly  keep 
guard  over  you.  Otherwise  you  might  get  a  blow  on  the  head  by  an 
unseen  agent,  and  be  carried  away  senseless,  or,  which  would  be  more 
likely,  a  corpse;  for  the  blow  that  would  stun  a  black  beauty  would 
surely  kill  you.  When  we  saw  the  savage,  waddy  in  hand,  stealing 
toward  the  tree  under  which  you  reclined,  we  had  no  time  for  action, 
but  only  to  call  you,  and  your  prompt  answer  to  the  call,  perhaps, 
saved  your  life." 

I  shuddered  at  the  danger  I  had  been  in  without  knowing  it,  and  the 
very  narrow  escajje  that  I  had  made.  Part  of  my  daily  prayer  was  to 
ask  God  to  preserve  me  from  dangers,  seen  or  unseen,  and  His  ear  is 
certainly  open  to  those  who  are  helplessly  trusting  in  Him  alone.  He 
is  my  Father  and  my  Friend.  I  thanked  the  governor  for  his  kindness, 
and  said: 

"I  shall  be  careful."     He  is  a  kind,  fatherly  man. 

The  aboriginal  marriages  are  different  in  different  tribes.  In  some 
tribes  it  is  performed  by  a  forcible  abduction  of  a  female  from  her  tribe. 
When  a  young  man  sees  a  girl  in  another  tribe  that  he  fancies,  he 
watches  his  opportunity  to  find  her  alone,  darts  toward  her,  gives  her 
a  blow  on  the  head  with  a  waddy,  which  stuns  her,  and  carries  her  off 
to  his  wurly.     When  she  is  missed  in  her  tribe,  and  when  they  know 


134  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

vhere  she  is,  her  nearest  kinsman  and  her  husband  have  a  fight;  who- 
ever conquers  claims  her.  She  is  then  asked  which  tribe  she  prefers; 
as  a  rulg,  she  stays  with  her  husband.  Tommy  was  closely  watched. 
He  was  the  ugliest  savage  of  the  tribe  save  its  chief,  who  was  monstrous. 
A  few  months  after  our  visit  to  the  lake  region,  the  brigantine  Maria 
was  wrecked  in  Lacepede  Bay,  and  the  poor  passengers  and  crew,  in 
trying  to  find  their  way  to  Adelaide,  were  barbarously  murdered  by 
the  Murray  blacks.  Black  Bob,  our  ex-interpreter,  brought  the  intel- 
ligence from  the  scene  of  action.  He  said  nine  white  men  were  killed; 
four  were  roasted  and  eaten,  and  five  were  ready  to  be  cooked  and 
eaten.  On  this  horrible  news  reaching  the  seat  of  Government,  Gov- 
ernor Gawlor  determined  to  avenge  the  death  of  his  countrymen. 
Major  O'Haloren,  Commissioner  of  Police,  was  appointed  to  head  a 
party  to  go  down  to  investigate  the  matter,  with  full  power  to  bring  the 
guilty  parties  to  punishment.  A  series  of  murders  had  been  committed, 
and  the  murderers  must  be  punished,  in  order  to  the  safety  of  subse- 
quent settlers  or  travelers.  The  gallant  major  was  accompanied  by 
Captain  Nixon,  Mr.  Hart,  Inspector  Tolman,  twelve  policemen,  Mr. 
Pullen  and  eleven  sailors.  Bob  and  other  blacks.  When  the  party 
reached  the  place  where  the  bloody  scene  was  enacted,  a  number  of  na- 
tives were  seen  along  the  coast  far  ahead,  running  to  make  their  escape. 
Pursuit  was  given,  and  over  fifty  women  and  children  were  captured, 
with  fifteen  men.  Upon  the  persons  of  almost  every  one  were  found 
articles  of  European  clothing  stained  with  blood.  A  silver  watch  and 
some  silver  spoons  were  found.  This  convinced  the  major  that  he  had 
some  of  the  murderers  in  charge,  and  he  kept  the  men  close  prisoners, 
but  let  the  women  and  children  go.  Next  day  more  of  the  ferocious 
black  fellows  were  captured.  Two  were  shot  who  took  to  the  lake. 
The  wonder  is  that  all  were  not  shot,  but  the  major  had  his  instruc- 
tions, and  acted  accordingly.  In  addition  to  the  murder  of  the  crew 
of  the  Maria,  other  whalers  were  cruelly  murdered;  and  black  Bob, 
who  was  witness  against  the  murderers,  told  us  that  he  knew  of  four 
men  who  had  been  eaten,  and  that  five  more  were  ready  to  be  roasted 
and  eaten.  *  All  the  available  evidence  was  i:)roduced,  and  the  murderers 
pointed  out,  four  in  number,  besides  the  two  who  were  shot.  One  of 
these  four  gave  more  particular  evidence  of  the  revolting  transactions, 
and  he  was  pardoned.    Two  or  three  were  sentenced  to  be  hung,  with- 

*Some  Authors  say  that  the  Australian  blacks  are  not  cannibals.  I  believe  they 
were,  in  the  days  I  speak  of,  not  from  actual  observation,  but  from  reading  and 
hearing  so  much  of  the  practice  of  cannibalism. 


AN  EXPLORING  EXPEDITION. 


135 


out  judge  or  jury,  but  no  Court  could  have  been  more  solemn  under 
the  awful  circumstances.  The  day  after  the  condemnation,  the  whole 
party,  the  condemned  and  other  prisoners,  went  about  fifteen  miles  to 
where  the  crew  of  the  Maria  had  been  butchered,  and  over  their  re- 
mains were  hung  two  or  three  men.  One  of  these  was  the  veritable 
chief,  whose  grim  face  I  so  closely  scanned  at  Lake  Alexandrina.  It 
took  six  men  to  hold  him,  so  fierce  and  violent  was  he.  Who  knows 
what  his  dark  mind  was  cogitating,  when  he  sat  alone  in  his  ugliness 
on  the  rock  ?  After  these  were  hung  all  the  other  blacks  were  set  at 
liberty,  with  the  injunction  that  no  one  was  to  take  down  the  dead 
bodies,  but  all  to  take  warning,  and  be  civil  to  white  men,  or  share  the 
same  fate.  There  has  been  no  organized  plan  to  butcher  the  white 
men  wholesale  since  that  time. 

We  prepared  at  early  dawn  for  a  fresh  start  on  our  watery  way.  The 
day  was  beautiful  and  bright,  the  wind  was  fair,  and  all  were  cheery. 
Our  flotilla  presented  a  very  pleasing  picture,  as  we  sped  over  the  rip- 
pling waters  of  the  lake,  our  white  sails  set,  and  glistening  in  the  sun- 
shine, like  the  white-winged  messengers  they  were,  carrying  civilization 
into  the  surrounding  solitudes.  We  entered  the  lake-mouth  of  the 
Murray,  and  soon  came  to  a  station,  where  were  a  number  of  men  con- 
structing a  raft  to  facilitate  the  crossing  of  sheep,  which  had  to  be 
brought  from  New  South  Wales.  Here  we  met  several  mounted  po- 
lice with  led  horses,  and  also  Mr.  Bryan,  my  obliging  escort  across  the 
sandy  basin  at  Willunga.  I  heard  a  gentleman  of  the  marine  party 
say  of  Bryan : 

''There  is  something  about  him  noble  and  daring,  calculated  to  attract 
attention;  there  is  something  in  him,  his  manner  and  appearance,  that 
will  at  some  future  day  make  him  an  ornament  to  society,  and  an 
honor  to  his  family." 

Poor  Bryan  saw  no  future;  he  was  destined  never  to  return  to 
Adelaide.  His  family,  in  the  Emerald  Isle,  saw  him  no  more  forever. 
Mr.  Pullen,  master  of  the  marine  party,  was  unable  to  perform  his 
duties  as  cockswain  to  the  governor,  on  account  of  some  ribs  and  his 
collar-bone  being  broken.  He  had  met  with  a  severe  accident  just  be- 
fore we  joined  his  party,  and  though  he  was  convalescent,  steering  the 
boat  gave  him  great  pain  and  fever,  and  another  had  to  take  his  place. 
The  governor  and  Captain  Sturt  were  the  only  gentlemen  of  the  party 
who  had  mattresses  to  sleep  on,  and  kangaroo  skins  were  not  soft  as 
down  for  broken  bones,  I  offered  Captain  Pullen  the  use  of  my  mat- 
tress, as  I  did  not  need  it  half  as  miich  as  he  did,  but  he  politely  re- 


136  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

fused  to  take  it.  1  asked  Captain  Sturt  to  insist  upon  his  taking  it,  as 
I  could  not  think  of  sleeping  upon  a  comfortable  bed,  when  he  was 
suffering  so  much  for  want  of  one;  that  he  might  as  well  take  it,  for  as 
long  as  I  thought  he  needed  it,  I  should  not  use  it.  Captain  Sturt  told 
him  he  must  take  it,  for  I  had  so  determined.  It  proved  a  great  com- 
fort to  him.  The  usual  pat  on  the  head,  and  "you  are  a  good  girl," 
from  Captain  Sturt,  more  than  repaid  me  for  any  inconvenience  that 
I  had. 

The  first  night  that  I  spread  my  sheet  upon  the  earth  and  lay  down, 
I  felt  a  little  self-complacent  at  what  I  had  done.  I  thought  I  should 
sleep  sweetly,  because  I  had  done  my  duty.  I  committed  myself  to 
my  heavenly  Father's  care,  and  composed  myself  to  sleep;  but  I  could 
not  sleep,  things  were  crawling  over  me  and  under  me.  I  was  not 
afraid,  but  I  did  not  know  what  the  things  were  that  kept  me  from 
sleep,  and  I  did  not  wish  to  awake  Mrs.  Sturt  and  Miss  Julia  by  strik- 
ing a  light.  I  lay  all  night  in  a  very  uncomfortable  situation.  The 
night  seemed  long,  and  as  soon  as  day  dawned  I  arose,  put  my  hand 
between  the  outside  canvas  and  the  lining  of  the  tent  to  pull  it  down, 
to  admit  the  light.  I  felt  something  pinch  my  finger.  I  pulled  up  my 
hand  hastily,  and  to  the  end  of  my  finger  hung  a  centipede  seven  or 
eight  inches  long.  I  shook  the  creature  off  in  a  hurry,  not  as  Paul  did 
the  viper,  into  the  fire,  but  upon  the  ground.  At  first  I  did  not  know 
what  it  was,  I  had  never  seen  a  centipede.  I  lifted  my  pillow,  and 
there  were  several  very  large  ones  crawling  about;  I  lifted  my  sheet, 
and  there  were  several  more  of  the  disgusting  looking  centipedes,  which 
had  been  reveling  around  and  over  me  in  the  night.  I  was  thankful 
that  I  had  not  been  bitten  by  them.* 

While  breakfast  was  being  prepared,  we  saw  a  great  cloud  of  dust 
moving  toward  us,  from  the  bush  east  of  us,  and  presently  we  heard 
the  sharp  report  of  a  rifle.  We  were  startled  by  such  an  unusual  sound 
in  these  vast  solitudes.  As  the  cloud  came  nearer,  we  discovered  a 
great  herd  of  cattle  and  sheep,  apparently  without  number,  which  had 
been  brought  overland  from  New  South  Wales.  As  I  stood  looking  at 
these  wild  animals  tramping  down  everything  before  them,  bellowing, 
and  lashing  their  gaunt  sides  with  their  great  tails,  I  wondered  how  the 

*Scolapendra  is  the  generic  name  of  centipede.  They  are  venomous,  but  ex- 
cept with  diseased  persons  and  children,  their  bite  is  not  fatal.  Their  body  is 
long,  and  divided  into  rings,  and  each  ring  has  a  pair  of  feet.  The  number  of 
their  legs  or  feet  depends  on  the  length  of  the  body  and  the  number  of  rings. 
They  are  like  worms  with  a  great  many  legs.  Their  heads  have  two  antennae  and 
two  eyes.     They  chew  their  food. 


AN   EXPLORING   EXPEDITION.  137 

way-worn  and  weary  stockmen  could  manage  such  uproarious  creatures; 
but  here  they  were,  having  traveled  over  hundreds  of  miles  of  waste, 
howling  wilderness. 

Poor  fellows;  how  I  pitied  them,  and  the  sheep  with  their  pattering 
feet,  raising  clouds  of  dust  enough  to  blind  and  smother  them.  The 
poor  men  must  have  suffered  great  and  many  hardships ;  but  so  it 
must  always  be  with  explorers  and  pioneers. 

We  bought  two  sheep  and  sailed  away.  This  day  being  Saturday 
we  landed  early,  killed  the  sheep,  and  what  was  not  dressed  for  din- 
ner was  hung  high  up  in  a  tree  to  preserve  it,  as  the  day  was  very  hot, 
and  the  flies  troublesome.  At  the  altitude  of  twenty  or  thirty  feet, 
meat  could  be  kept  fresh  any  length  of  time,  but  near  the  ground,  it  was 
ruined  by  the  large  blue  fly,  even  while  it  was  being  eaten,  if  not 
carefully  watched. 

"Wiregauze  covers  are  absolutely  necessary  at  table  to  keep  the 
meat  from  walking  away,"  said  some  one,  and  it  is  true,  or  nearly  so. 

The  morning  of  Sunday  broke  upon  our  encampment  in  the  very 
extreme  of  Australian  beauty.  All  nature  was  at  peace.  The  river 
was  like  a  beautiful  band  of  silver  bordering  a  mantle  of  dusky  hue. 
It  contrasted  beautifully  with  the  brown  appearance  of  the  country 
through  which  it  was  silently  flowing.  Our  encampmant  was  to  enjoy 
a  day  of  rest  in  the  wilds  as  in  the  city.  His  Excellency  never  trav- 
eled on  Sunday  willingly.  The  whole  company  were  assembled  in 
the  dining  marquee,  to  join  in  divine  worship.  There  we  were,  a 
silent  group,  listening  to  the  Christian  soldier  and  warrior  conducting 
the  Church  of  England  service,  and  another  soldier.  Captain  Sturt, 
reading  the  responses.  There  was  something  in  our  situation  that 
rendered  the  service  very  imposing  and  impressive,  without  altar  or 
organ.  This  was  the  first  assembly  which  had  ever  met  together  here 
for  the  high  and  holy  purpose  of  worshiping  the  true  God.  We 
were  far  away  from  the  habitations  of  civilized  men,  in  the  midst  of  a 
wilderness,  where  the  savage  roamed  in  ignorance  and  moral  debase- 
ment. The  calm  dignity  of  the  Governor's  demeanor,  while  conduct- 
ing the  service,  the  time,  the  place,  the  circumstances  in  which  we 
were  placed,  all  added  to  the  grandeur  of  the  scene.  It  is  painted  on 
my  memory  as  in  rainbow  tints. 

Early  the  next  morning  we  were  again  afloat  on  our  watery  way. 
We  put  in  at  a  little  nook  for  breakfast,  and  while  tea  and  damper 
were  being  jjrcpared,  I  was  standing  near  by  an  interested  spectator. 
All  at  once  I  screamed  out,  Oh,  oh !  and  ran  off  to  the  tent,  holding 


138  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

my  dress  tight  around  my  knees.  The  cooks  laughed  heartily  at  my 
hurried  retreat.  I  felt  as  if  a  score  of  lancets  had  pierced  my  skin. 
I  had  un wittingly ^stood  upon  an  ant-hill,  which  was  owned  by  a  gar- 
rison of  the  fiercest  soldier  ants.  I  invaded  their  territory,  and  they 
resented  my  intrusion  upon  their  domain  by  marching  up  to,  and  sur- 
rounding my  limbs,  and  from  my  ankles  to  my  knees,  they  bit  me  in  a 
savage  manner.  I  had  ten  bites  on  one  limb  and  seven  on  the  other. 
Where  these  ants  bit  they  left  a  small  red  spot,  and  round  this  spot 
the  skin  grew  black  all  over  my  limbs,  and  the  pain  I  felt  was  excru- 
ciating. Mrs.  Sturt  took  some  lotion  from  the  Captain's  medicine 
case  and  bathed  my  wounds.* 

In  the  evening  time,  when  the  tents  were  being  pitched  and  the  din- 
ner preparing.  Miss  Julia  and  I  would  indulge  in  a  quiet  walk  up  or 
down  the  river  bank.  On  one  occasion,  as  we  were  taking  our  accus- 
tomed walk,  our  conversation  turned  upon  our  respective  fathers.  I 
thought,  had  my  father  lived  he  would  be  kind  and  indulgent  as  hers. 
We  were  talking  of  what  might  have  been.  I  had  the  comforting 
knowledge  that  I  had  a  heavenly  Father  if  not  an  earthly  one.  We 
were  in  quite  a  sober  mood;  but  we  were  suddenly  startled  out  of  it. 
The  ground  was  undulating,  and  we  were  passing  through  a  copse  of 
stunted  banksias,  just  out  of  sight  of  the  camp.  We  had  terminated 
our  walk  and  were  about  to  return,  when  up  sprang  a  black  savage, 
painted  in  red  war  paint,  from  under  a  banksia.  We  turned  from  the 
hideous  sight  of  this  nude  savage,  only  to  see  another  jump  up,  and 
another,  and  another,  from  under  the  bushes,  where  they  were  am- 
bushed. We  were  surrounded  by  eighteen  or  twenty  of  these  savages, 
glistening  in  grease  and  war  paint,  and  armed  with  war  weapons.     I 

®The  labors  and  policy  of  the  ants  are  very  wonderful.  Their  nest  is  a  city,  con- 
sisting of  dwelling-places,  halls,  streets,  and  squares  into  which  the  streets  open. 
In  general,  the  larvae  dig  in  the  earth  a  number  of  galleries.  Chambers  are 
arranged  in  stories,  and  in  carrying  out  the  dirt  they  often  raise  hills  ten  or 
twelve  feet  high.  In  the  interior  of  these  hills,  the  little  workers  form  new 
stories  like  those  below.  The  chambers  on  each  side  of  the  streets,  or  galleries, 
are  where  they  store  their  winter  food.  Ants  are  carnivorous;  they  do  not 
themselves  eat  the  grain  that  they  are  often  seen  carrying  to  their  city;  they  eat 
animal  food  and  honey.  They  have  a  little  insect  they  keep  imprisoned  in  one 
of  their  cells,  which  makes  for  them  the  honey  they  use  in  return  for  the  grain 
they  provide  for  her.  I  have  had  large  snakes  after  being  killed  put  on  an  ant's 
hill,  and  in  a  few  days  the  flesh  would  be  entirely  eaten  oft  the  bones.  I  have 
also  had  the  top  of  a  hill  shoveled  off",  and  laid  open  the  chambers  filled  with 
white  and  tempting  looking  snake's  flesh,  ready  for  a  rainy  day.  "Go  to  the 
ant,  thou  sluggard,"  and  learn  a  lesson  of  industry. 

The  soldier  ants,  who  so  bravely  defended  their  fortress,  were  over  an  inch  long, 
stood  over  half  an  inch  high,  were  bright  red  with  a  spot  of  black  in  their  heads. 
They  were  warlike  and  fierce.  ♦ 


AN  EXPLORING  EXPEDITION.  I39 

grew  faint  and  sick.  Julia  grasped  my  arm,  and,  in  a  suppressed 
whisper,  said : 

"Let  us  run." 

"No,  no,  1  can  not,"  I  said. 

"What  shall  we  do?"  again  she  whispered  in  agonized  tones. 

"I  do  not  know,"  I  said. 

But  in  that  moment  of  utter  helplessness  and  terror,  I  remembered 
that  I  had  a  Father  in  heaven,  Almighty  to  save,  whose  arm  could 
shield  us.  Thoughts  as  quick  as  lightning  flashes  passed  through  my 
brain;  first  I  feared  being  killed  and  eaten;  then,  O  horror!  I 
thought  they  might  not  kill  us,  but  what  would  be  a  thousand  times 
worse  than  death,  they  might  carry  us  away  and  hide  us. 

"O  God,  my  Father,"  I  mentally  exclaimed,  "save  us  from  being 
carried  away." 

In  a  moment  I  felt  that  whatever  befell  us  we  were  in  His  hands 
who  doeth  all  things  well.  As  I  looked  at  the  grinning,  painted  sav- 
ages, I  felt  horrified  at  our  helpless  state,  but  I  knew  that  if  God  did 
not  permit  these  monsters  to  harm  us,  a  hair  of  our  head  would  not  be 
injured,  but  if  God  allowed  them  to  kill  us,  we  were  still  in  his  hands. 
I  felt  secure  under  His  protecting  care.  I  then  had  no  fear,  though 
we  were  only  two  helpless  girls  completely  in  the  power  of  these  painted 
demons.  I  felt  also  that  God  was  very  near  to  protect  His  poor  help- 
less children.     Julia  pressed  my  arm  now,  and  said: 

"Let  us  run." 

"No,"  I  said,  "we  can  not  yet." 

"I  am  afraid,"  said  she,  and  shook  like  an  aspen  leaf,  whilst  her 
face  was  blanched. 

"So  am  I  afraid;  but  I  have  prayed  to  God  to  take  care  of  us,  and 
He  will,"  said  L 

Meantime  one  of  these  panther-like  monsters  came  close  up  to  me 
(they  had  never  seen  any  creatures  like  us  before,  and  their  curie  sity 
was  excited)  and  took  my  hand,  pushed  up  my  sleeve,  and  put  his 
great  horn)^  hand  and  arm  close  to  mine.  His  touch  made  my  flesh 
creep.  He  then  pushed  my  bonnet  from  my  face,  and  ]nit  his  face 
close  to  mine,  and  looked  at  my  neck.  The  close  proximity  of  his 
great  jaws  and  gleaming  teeth  made  me  shiver,  but  when  he  pulled 
the  dress  off  my  feet  to  look  at  them,  I  gave  him  a  push  which  drove 
him  from  me  staggering  to  a  distance,  and  he  nearly  fell.  This  made 
all  the  uncouth  savages  relax  and  yell  most  hideously.  While  Julia 
and  myself  were  beinjj  examined  by  two  of  tliese  horrid  men,  all  the 


140  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

Others  were  grinning  and  looking  on  deeply  interested  in  the  investi- 
gation. Julia  again  pinched  my  arm,  and  the  burden  of  her  cry  was 
still, 

"Let  us  run." 

This  it  was  impossible  to  do  with  safety.  Had  we  attempted  to  run, 
or  shown  signs  of  fear,  our  destruction  was  certain.  We  were  sur- 
rounded by  these  horrible-looking  men,  their  mouths  wide  open,  and 
their  tongues  hanging  out  of  their  huge  jaws,  as  if  they  were  ready  to 
devour  us,  their  eyes  fixed  and  glowering  at  us  with  a  most  horrible 
gaze.  They  presented  a  horribly  sickening  sight;  but  when  I  drove 
the  fellow  from  me,  the  scene  changed  from  rapt  attention  to  hideous 
gesticulation.  The  violence  of  their  movements  was  awful.  I  dared 
not  cover  my  eyes  to  shut  out  the  sight.  I  made  signs  to  the  danc- 
ing demons  at  last  to  sit  down  a  la  Tare  on  the  ground,  which  they 
did.  Julia  and  I  had  a  piece  of  paper  and  a  pair  of  scissors  between 
us.  I  showed  the  paper  to  the  blacks,  and  they  looked  at  it  with 
open  mouths.  I  showed  them  the  scissors,  and  then  I  snipped  the 
paper.  This  brought  them  all  to  their  feet  around  me.  I  had  to  sign 
to  them  again  to  sit  down  in  a  semicircle,  with  their  faces  toward  the 
camp.  Then  I  began  at  the  first  man  so  that  he  could  see  it  well,  then 
to  the  next,  and  so  on  to  the  end  of  the  row,  then  back  to  the  fi-rst, 
till  the  paper  was  hung  in  shreds.  What  was  to  be  done  now  ?  I  had 
nothing  more  to  show,  and  these  hideous-looking  creatures  were  all  in 
quiet  expectancy.  While  I  was  cutting  the  paper,  every  snip  I  gave  was 
responded  to  by  yells  and  beating  of  waddies  on  the  towerangs  at  a 
most  furious  rate.  Now  I  was  at  a  standstill,  but  this  must  not  last, 
for  these  demons  would  be  up  and  around  us  again.  On  the  instant, 
I  resolved  on  a  bold  step.  It  may  cost  me  my  life  I  thought,  but 
something  must  be  done.  Life  and  death  were  in  the  balance.  I 
went  up  to  the  first  savage  in  the  row.  It  is  needless  to  say  how  I 
felt.  I  looked  at  him,  and  by  signs  pretended  to  cut  hair  from  my 
chin,  and  then  I  took  hold  of  his  beard  and  held  the  scissors  close  to 
it,  and  asked  if  I  might  cut  his  beard.  He  nodded  assent,  and  I 
snipped  a  piece  off,  my  pulses  beating  fast  and  furious,  and  the  yells 
were  raised  to  a  higher  pitch  than  ever.  I  started  back  in  alarm  and 
disgust,  but  I  had  nothing  to  fear  from  him  whose  beard  was  cut,  for 
he  held  the  other  side  up  to  be  cut  also.  This  I  did,  and  I  gained  cour- 
age, and  went  round  to  all  of  them.  I  stood  behind  one  and  lifted 
an  ochre  besmeared  lock  of  his  hair,  and  asked  by  signs  if  I  might 
cut  it  off.     He  consented  to  the  operation.     And  so  I  went  to  all  and 


AN  EXPLORING  EXPEDITION.  I4I 

cut  a  part  off  their  beard,  or  their  hair  off  their  head.  Again  a  pinch 
of  the  arm  and  a  low  voice  whispered: 

"Let  us  run." 

"No,  not  yet,"  was  the  answer. 

JuHa  had  not  let  go  my  arm  since  first  we  were  surrounded.  I 
went  back  to  the  first  man  in  the  row,  took  paper,  spread  it  on  my 
hand,  took  the  dirty,  disgusting  haic  and  spread  it  out  on  the  paper,  and 
began  to  roll  it  up.  I  had  to  go  the  round  and  let  every  one  see  what 
I  was  doing.  When  all  was  done  that  could  be  thought  of,  I  looked 
toward  the  camp  for  the  hundredth  time  I  suppose,  but  no  help  was 
nigh.  None  but  God  could  deliver  us,  and  to  Him  I  now  looked  for  a  way 
to  escape.  I  shook  my  fist  in  the  faces  of  these  human  monsters  and 
pointed  to  the  camp.  I  walked  a  few  steps  from  them,  looked  back, 
and  again  shook  my  fist  at  them.  Every  motion  of  mine  from  first  to 
last  was  accompanied  by  yells,  the  most  hideous  and  ear  piercing  that 
could  be  imagined,  and  beating  of  towerangs  with  their  waddies. 
Every  few  steps  we  took  I  turned  and  shook  my  fist,  with  the  same 
demoniacal  response  from  them.  It  was  evident  that  these  savages 
expected  us  to  return  and  show  them  something  more.  We  reached 
a  knoll.  On  the  top  of  it,  for  the  last  time,  I  turned  and  shook  my 
fist,  the  yells  were  louder  and  more  hideous  than  ever.  We  were  now 
beyond  the  range  of  their  vision. 

"Now,  Miss  Julia,  let  go  my  arm  and  let  us  run,  the  time  has  come." 

And  off  we  bounded  like  two  hunted  kangaroos.  Fear  added 
wings  to  our  speed.  On  we  went.  We  hardly  touched  the  ground. 
We  stopped  not  to  breathe  till  we  reached  the  camp.  The  sun  had 
gone  down,  and  in  those  southern  latitudes  the  twilight  lasts  but  a 
twinkling.  We  reached  our  marquee  just  as  darkness  covered  our 
camp  as  with  a  mantle.  We  sat  down  on  the  ground  and  burst  into 
tears,  and  we  cried  most  heartily.  The  strain  on  our  nerves  had  been 
too  much.  We  cried  till  a  messenger  came  to  tell  us  dinner  was 
ready;  but  we  cared  not  to  eat.  We  sat  still  and  had  our  cry  out, 
then  we  kissed  each  other,  and  embraced  each  other,  and  had  (juite  a 
little  scene  all  to  ourselves.  We  had  just  had  an  escape  from  death 
with  all  its  torturing  details,  and,  oh,  worse  than  death  with  all  its 
horrors.  This  was  one  of  those  instances  in  which  is  compressed  in  a 
few  minutes  the  sensations  of  years  of  ordinary  existence.  Life,  death, 
eternity,  bodily  pain,  and  worse  than  all  these,  ten  times  told,  were 
all  presented  to  our  senses.  It  was  some  time  ere  we  were  composed 
enough  to  talk.     When  we  found  speech,  we  exclaimed: 


142  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

"Oh,  how  terrible!  oh,  how  horrible!"  and  we  covered  our  faces 
with  our  hands,  to  shut  out  from  our  mental  vision,  if  possible,  the  ap- 
palling sight.  But  all  was  too  vivid  to  our  mind's  eye  to  be  so  soon 
shut  out.  That  event  is  written  upon  the  tablets  of  my  memory  with 
a  pen  of  iron,  so  deep,  that  it  can  not  be  erased  while  memory  lasts. 
When  we  were  a  Httle  more  calm,  I  took  the  hair  in  my  hand,  and  said : 

"Let  us  divide  this  hair  as  a  traphy  of  our  triumph  and  escape." 

"Oh,"  said  Julia,  "not  as  my  triumph,  I  did  nothing;  I  was  too 
much  afraid." 

' '  I  was  too  much  afraid  too  to  do  anything,  till  I  asked  God  for  help. 
He  put  it  into  my  thoughts  to  do  what  I  did  do,  and  deserves  all  the 
praise,"  I  said. 

"Well,"  she  said,  "that  may  be,  but  I  can  not  take  the  hair  as  a 
memento  of  my  triumph." 

"Well,  then  as  a  memento  of  our  providential  escape,"  said  I. 

"Yes,  that  will  do,"  she  said,  and  so  we  divided  the  bristled,  griz- 
zled hair  of  the  beards  and  ochred,  matted  heads  of  the  worst  looking 
of  all  the  hideous  savages  of  the  Murray,  or  even  of  the  earth.  They 
belong  to  the  lowest  types  of  humanity.  They  have  no  idea  of  an 
overruhng  providence.  After  we  had  divided  our  trophy,  we  entered 
into  a  covenant,  and  why  we  did  so,  I  can  give  no  reasons.  I  doubt, 
if  we  had  one  at  the  time,  but  what  was  prompted  by  fear.  We  prom- 
ised never  to  tell  of  our  adventure  as  long  as  we  remained  in  the  colony. 
In  the  first  place,  we  feared  a  reprimand  for  straying  so  far  from  the 
camp.  We  had  no  need  to  fear  any  severity;  we  might  have  been  warned 
not  to  go  outof  sight  of  the  tent  without  a  guard.  Mrs.  Sturt's  good-night 
to  her  husband  at  the  tent  door  caused  us  to  spring  to  our  feet.  We 
three  prepared  to  retire.  No  questions  were  asked  about  our  absence; 
I  suppose  we  were  hardly  missed.  I  spread  my  sheet  on  the  ground, 
and  lay  down  to  sleep;  but  my  imagination  was  so  excited  by  the  hor- 
rid scenes  we  had  passed  through,  that  I  could  not  sleep.  My  heart 
was  full  to  overflowing  with  gratitude  for  our  preservation.  I  thought 
of  my  orphaned  state,  and  what  would  have  become  of  me  in  the  wilds 
of  this  great  land,  if  I  had  not  a  kind,  heavenly  Father  to  protect  me. 
O  God,  my  refuge  and  defense  in  a  perilous  hour!  I  cried  unto  the 
Lord,  and  he  heard  my  heart's  cry,  and  saved  me.  It  is  a  good 
thing  to  trust  the  Lord.  Mrs.  Sturt  and  Miss  Julia  had  long  been 
asleep,  but  I  lay  awake.  Deep  midnight  reigned  around  in  silence 
and  darkness;  not  a  sound  was  heard,  only  the  soft  breathing  of 
the  sleepers.     In  the  midst  of  the  death-like  silence,  I  heard  what 


AN  EXPLORING  EXPEDITION.  I43 

sounded  like  a  rushing,  mighty  wind.  I  saw  a  fierce  gleam  of  Hght 
through  an  opening  of  the  tent.  I  sprang  to  my  feet,  pushed  my 
head  outside  of  the  tent,  and  saAv  all  the  grass  and  brush  around 
the  camp  on  fire,  and  our  men  trying  to  beat  it  back  from  the 
tents  with  branches  of  trees.  I  heard  an  order  given,  by  whom  I  do 
not  know:  "To  arms,  and  pursue!"  and  several  men  of  our  party 
gave  chase.  Chase  to  whom?  The  savages  who  waited  for  Julia  and 
me  to  go  back  and  show  them  something.  They  got  tired  waiting,  and 
came  near  our  camp  and  set  the  grass  on  fire.  Had  it  not  been  for 
our  watchmen,  we  might  all  have  been  burned  in  our  beds.  I  went 
back  to  my  resting-place  on  my  sheet.  Presently  I  heard  the  crack  of 
a  rifle  or  gun,  then  another,  and  another.  I  never  knew  whether  any 
of  the  savages  fell  that  night.  The  sleepers  had  been  aroused,  and 
sleep  fled  from  the  camp  for  the  remainder  of  the  night.  Next  morn- 
ing we  saw  a  new  danger  we  had  been  in,  from  the  reptiles  rushing  to 
our  camp.  The  matter  was  discussed,  and  the  conclusion  was,  that  we 
were  in  a  dangerous  neighborhood,  inasmuch  as  two  tribes  of  savages, 
one  on  each  side  of  the  river,  were  at  war  with  each  other,  and  the 
sooner  we  moved  our  camp  the  better.  So  before  the  sun  reached  the 
tree-tops  on  the  eastern  horizen,  we  were  in  our  boats. 

As  we  glided  up  the  river  under  easy  sail,  we  did  not  see  any  na- 
tives; but  ere  we  brought  up  for  breakfast,  we  saw  two  bark  canoes. 
These  were  very  simple  in  their  construction.  The  bark  cut  off  a  large 
tree  and  tied  at  each  end,  and  a  stout  stick  about  two  feet  long  placed 
in  the  middle  to  keep  the  sides  out.  The  savage  sits  flat  on  the  bottom 
of  his  canoe  when  he  paddles  it.  The  canoes  we  saw  were  very  small, 
and  black  Tommy,  as  soon  as  we  landed,  made  for  them,  and,  before 
we  knew  what  he  was  about,  deliberately  punched  holes  in  them  and 
sank  them.  He  was  asked  why  he  did  such  a  thing,  but  he  only 
grinned  and  danced.  We  were  hardly  afloat  again,  when  we  heard 
the  most  tremendous  yells.  Black  Tommy  did  not  come  on  board  of 
any  of  the  boats  that  day,  but  went  with  the  wagons  which  carried  the 
tents  and  heavy  luggage.  On  the  boats  turning  a  projecting  point,  we 
saw  Tommy  in  full  chase  after  a  number  of  black  women;  and  when 
he  got  up  with  the  flyaways,  he  very  coolly  selected  one,  and  brought 
her  back  to  the  boats.  All  this  was  very  amusing  to  the  white  men. 
The  other  women,  after  their  panic  was  over,  came  down  to  the  boats 
evidently  bent  on  revenge ;  but  when  they  saw  so  many  white  people, 
they  were  afraid,  and  plunged  into  the  river  and  swam  to  the  other 
shore.     Tommy  was  compelled  to  let  his  black  beauty  go  free.     The 


144  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

heat  was  very  great,  and  the  wind  died  away,  and  the  men  had  to  take 
the  oars  and  row  up  stream,  which  was  very  hard  work. 

The  governor,  always  humane,  landed  early  when  the  men  had  to 
row.  On  this  evening  we  saw  a  number  of  cattle  running  wild.  The 
governor  ordered  one  to  be  shot,  and  the  skin,  if  branded,  to  be  taken 
to  Adelaide,  where  he  would  advertise  for  the  owner,  and  have  him  paid 
for  the  animal.  The  cow  was  shot  and  skinned,  but  the  skin,  with 
things  far  more  valuable,  were  left  in  the  desert,  and  never  reached 
Adelaide.  Captain  Pullen  milked  the  cow  after  she  was  shot,  and  gave 
me  some  of  the  milk  to  drink.  She  was  cut  up,  and  some  of  the  warm 
flesh  prepared  for  dinner.  The  remainder  was  hung  high  up  in  a  tree 
till  the  morning.  Tommy  feasted  on  the  raw  entrails.  His  usual  food 
while  with  us  was  big,  fat  grubs,  which  he  picked  out  of  hollow  trees; 
worms  were  a  delicacy  to  him.  The  grubs  are  found  in  the  gum  and 
wattle  trees,  and  are  from  four  to  six  inches  long,  and  about  half  an 
inch  in  diameter.  When  lightly  fried  they  taste  like  marrow — so  said 
one  of  the  party  who  had  partaken  of  the  dainty  dish.  Tom  ate  his 
raw.  He  seemed  to  relish  a  dinner  off  a  dead  dog,  or  iguana,  exceed- 
ingly. I  was  sorry  when  we  set  sail  to  see  so  much  fresh  meat  left  be- 
hind, but  we  could  not  keep  it  fresh  till  dinner-time,  so  we  left  it  for 
the  hawks  and  dingos. 

We  camped  at  a  place  where  the  river  banks  just  below  were  high 
precipitous  bluffs,  and  as  we  passed  up  between  them,  they  looked  like 
walls.  Here  the  channel  was  narrow,  swift  and  very  deep.  On  look- 
ing south  from  where  we  were,  we  saw  that  we  had  reached  a  higher 
plane,  and  this  high  land  stretched  east  and  west  as  far  as  the  eye  could 
reach.  North,  the  surface  was  undulating.  We  were  200  or  300  feet 
above  the  level  of  our  last  encampment,  and  I  was  greatly  surprised  to 
see  on  this  high,  dry  land  banks  on  banks  of  oyster  shells,  as  if  just 
thrown  there  in  heaps;  and  my  surprise  was  not  lessened  when,  in  dig- 
ging about,  I  found  a  fossil  shark's  tooth.  I  found  a  variety  of  shells 
besides  the  oyster.  I,  of  course,  could  not  account  for  sea-shells,  and 
fossil  bones,  and  teeth  of  great  fishes,  that  we  found  here.  I  asked  Cap- 
tain Sturt,  and  he  said  we  were  on  a  great  fossil  formation.* 


*He  said  that  he  had  seen,  in  various  parts  of  the  country,  several  deposits  of 
sand,  like  sea-dunes,  which  greatly  changed  the  face  of  the  country ;  and  when 
the  events,  which  had  produced  such  changes  in  the  physical  structure  of  the 
country,  t.ook  place,  a  current  of  some  description  or  other  swept  over  the  interior 
from  northward,  and  that  the  current  had  deposited  the  great  fossil  bed  where  it 
now  rests.  He  could  not  account  for  such  a  mass  and  mixture  of  animal  remains 
being  heaped  up  in  any  other  way. 


,  AN"  EXPLORING  EXPEDITION.  145 

Miss  Julia  and  I,  in  one  of  our  very  short  rambles,  discovered  three 
black  women,  each  with  a  girl  picaniny  on  her  knee.  They  were  un- 
couth looking  creatures.  They  were  hidden  away  in  a  nook  in  one  of 
the  cliffs,  jabbering  at  a  great  rate,  just  like  monkeys,  which  they  very 
much  resembled.  They  were  hideously  disgusting.  We  were  afraid 
of  them  at  first,  but  they  did  not  offer  to  hurt  us.  I  patted  one  of  the 
monkey-looking  babies,  and  gained  the  favor  of  the  mother  right  away. 
She  grinned,  and  went  through  some  antics,  which  were  not  the  most 
graceful. 

The  native  women  do  not  usually  rear  more  than  four  children.  The 
task  of  rearing  their  children  is  so  severe,  that  they  frequently  destroy 
them  as  soon  as  they  are  born. 

On  our  way  we  passed  two  burial-places,  each  differing  from  the 
other  in  appearance.  One  was  formed  of  four  tall  poles  stuck  into 
the  ground  at  equal  distances,  like  the  legs  of  a  table.  On  top  of 
these  was  placed  a  square  piece  of  bark,  on  which  was  seated  a  painted 
savage,  spear  in  hand.  When  I  asked  what  that  savage  was  doing  up 
there,  I  was  told  that  he  was  dead  and  buried.  I  laughed  at  the  idea 
of  being  buried  away  up  in  the  air.  Well,  this  was  one  mode  of  put- 
ting away  their  dead.  The  other  burying-place  had  a  corpse  lying  on 
the  ground  and  covered  with  branches  of  trees  stuck  in  the  ground  on 
each  side  of  the  corpse  and  lapped  over,  and  the  dead  covered  with 
these  and  left,  as  was  thg  sitting  figure  on  top  of  the  poles,  to  decay. 

Mr.  Strange,  our  naturalist,  or  rather  our  taxidermist,  was  busy  prCr 
serving  all  the  birds  which  Bob  and  Tom  brought  him.  Mr,  Gould, 
who  was  with  us  a  part  of  the  time,  classified  the  birds,  b£asts  and 
plants  which  we  found.  Black  and  white  swans  are  indigenous  to  the 
Murray  River.  One  day  Tom  had  climbed  a  tall  tree  with  the  agility 
of  an  Australian  Black,  which  agility  was  marvelous.  He  caught  his 
bird,  reached  the  ground,  and  Mr.  Bryan  was  looking  at  the  specimen 
ere  it  was  handed  to  Mr.  Strange.  Here  were  two  men  between  whom 
a  greater  contrast  could  hardly  be  presented.  In  their  physical  ap- 
pearance they  were  as  distant  as  the  poles,  both  had  black  hair,  black 
eyes  and  white  teeth.  Tom  with  beetling  brows,  deep-set,  restless, 
crafty  eyes,  his  black  hair  red  with  ochre,  and  teeth  a  great  mouthful; 
and  though  he  donned  the  four  shirts  after  his  descent  from  the  tree,  he 
looked  every  inch  a  hideous  savage.  Bryan  with  black  hair  waving 
over  a  broad,  white,  intellectual  brow,  nose  slightly  Roman,  mouth 
well-formed  and  fascinating  when  wreathed  in  a  smile,  beautiful  white 
teeth,  eyes  large,  lustrous,  speaking,  sparkling,  seeming  to  look  into 

lO 


146  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

you  while  looking  at  you;  a  square  chin,  a  tall,  well-formed,  athletic 
figure,  handsome  and  noble.  He  often  sat  under  a  tree  beside  me 
and  read  the  poetry  of.  his  countryman  Moore.  He  had  a  fine  voice, 
and  his  rich,  Irish  accent  fell  on  the  ear  pleasandy.  He  and  an  elder 
brother  brought  letters  of  introduction  to  Governor  Gawlor,  and  the 
younger  was  appointed  aid-de-catnp  to  His  Excellency.  So  much  for 
the  handsome,  hapless,  gentlemanly  young  Bryan  at  present. 

We  reached  the  Northwest  Bend  of  the  Murray  River  after  two 
weeks  sailing  by  day  on  its  broad  and  placid  bosom,  and  resting  by 
night  on  its  verdant  banks.  The  heat  had  become  intense.  We  had 
not  had  any  rain  since  the  day  we  left  Willunga  and  everything  was 
parched.  Some  of  the  islands  we  passed  were  fairy-like  and  covered 
with  verdure.  Others  were  barren,  rocks  that  divided  the  current  of 
the  river,  but  all  were  full  of  interest.  There  was  something  in  the 
solitude  of  these  spots  forsaken  and  alone  in  their  sterility,  and  weird 
in  their  silence,  that  made  the  most  thoughtless  thoughtful. 

We  were  at  the  end  of  our  voyage,  but  we  had  a  desert  unknown  to 
white  men  to  cross,  and  ere  we  parted  with  our  marine  escort,  it  was 
deemed  prudent  to  explore  part  of  the  desert  over  which  we  were  to 
pass.  The  governor.  Captain  Sturt,  Mr.  Bryan,  and  three  others,  all 
mounted  and  armed,  and  a  pack-horse  carrying  three  days'  provisions 
and  one  day's  supply  of  water,  were  to  go  on  the  short  journey.  The 
object  of  this  expedition  was  to  find  water;  they  hoped  to  find  it  on  the 
second  day  and  supply  themselves,  and  return  on  the  third  day.  "Man 
proposes,  God  disposes."  Our  whole  party  numbered  thirty  persons 
— twelve  marines  and  sixteen  landsmen.  The  six  explorers  went  off  in 
fine  spirits.  Mr.  Bryan  told  me  to  take  care  of  myself,  and  keep  out 
of  black  Tommy's  way.     I  laughed, 'and  said: 

"I  will  be  careful,  the  governor  has  warned  me." 

Away  they  went  to  search  out  the  capabilities  of  the  unknown  land. 
1  liked  all  the  gentlemen  of  our  party  but  two,  and  they  were  my  own 
countrymen,  one  a  draftsman,  the  other  a  surveyor,  who  went  with 
the  exploring  party;  both  educated,  handsome  young  men.  I  could 
have  been  very  friendly  with  them  but  for  a  very  disagreeable  way 
they  had  of  teasing  me.  They  thought  I  ought  to  have  been  more 
cordial  in  my  manner  to  them;  why  they  thought  so  I  could  not  divine, 

as  they  had  never  been  particularly  kind  to  me.     Mr.  B and  Mr. 

G had  been  particularly  kind  to  me  on  our  voyage  up  the  river — 

they  were  of  the  marine  party — and  I  was  grateful  to  them  for  their 
attention.     Mx-  E and  Mr.  F of  our  own  party  were  exceed- 


AN  EXPLORING  EXPEDITION.  1 47 

ingly  kind,  and  why  should  I  withhold  my  thanks  from  them?  They 
were  all  like  brothers  to  me.  We  were  thrown  together  in  our  wilder- 
ness travels,  so  it  seemed  a  necessity  that  we  should  be  kind  to  each 
other.  Mr.  F.  constituted  himself  my  body-guard  against  the  attack  of 
Tommy,  and  no  doubt  thought  himself  a  more  suitable  suitor.  One 
afternoon  Mrs.  Sturt  and  Miss  Julia,  as  was  their  wont,  retired  to  the 
tent  for  a  siesta,  I  to  a  foot  of  a  tree  to  read;  but  I  could  not  read. 
My  hand  and  book  lay  on  my  lap,  while  I  watched  the  sun  going  west- 
ward. He  had  shone  out  brilliantly  all  day,  and  as  he  sank  toward 
the  horizon,  which  was  dyed  a  purple  hue,  magnificent  piles  of  clouds 
were  gradually  rolling  upward,  their  edges  fringed  with  burnished  gold, 
and  made  more  gorgeous  by  a  crimson  and  orange  background.  The 
trees  around  me  raised  their  majestic  branchless  trunks  to  a  great 
height,  like  grand  pillars  supporting  a  vaulted  roof,  and  forming  aisles 
grander  than  those  of  old  and  famed  cathedrals.  A  forest  is  the  tem- 
ple of  the  Eternal.    Here  we  can  look  from  nature  up  to  nature's  God. 

While  I  was  enjoying  the  glorious  scene  around  me,  Mr.  F joined 

me,  and  in  the  blandest  tones  said  he  was  glad  to  find  me  in  so  se- 
cluded a  spot,  and  had  no  doubt  but  my  mind  was  full  of  fine  senti- 
ments. 

"You  are  just  in  the  place  and  in  the  mood  I  wished  to  find  you.  I 
wish  to  say  something  very  important  to  you." 

I  smiled,  and  said:  "I  think  the  place  is  not  very  secluded,  as  the 
tents  are  but  a  few  yards  behind  this  tree,  and  as  for  my  mood,  tliat 
you  take  for  granted;  but  as  the  situation  suits  you,  I  shall  listen  to 
the  important  matter  you  have  to  communicate." 

With  some  pomposity  of  manner  he  said : 

"You  must  have  known  for  some  time  that  I  love  you." 

"Well,"  I  said,  "you  are  not  the  only  one  who  has  told  me  that." 

"But,"  he  said,  with  still  more  importance,  "I  wish  to  marry  you." 

"If  I  do  not  wish  to  marry  you,  what  then?" 

"O  I  shall  make  it  to  your  interest  to  marry  me.  I  will  surround 
you  with  everything  your  heart  can  wish." 

And  here  followed  a  long  list  of  inducements  to  marry  him.  I  very 
emphatically  said:   "Mr.  F I  shall  not  marry  you." 

"Why  not,"  said  he  ;   "do  you  object  to  me?" 

"Without  objecting  to  you  or  anyone  else,  I  am  too  young  to  marry, 
and  I  shall  not  marry  you." 

He  said,  with  more  feeing  than  the  case  required : 


148  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

"You  are  the  first  who  has  ever  refused  to  marry  me  when  I  asked 
them." 

And  here  followed  a  list  of  his  conquests. 

"You  mean,  contemptible  male  coquette,  did  you  expect  to  add  my 
name  to  your  list?     I  am  glad  I  escaped  the  snare  by  disliking  you," 

"By  h n  I  shall  make  you  my  wife." 

I  very  quietly  said:    "Never." 

"I  shall  compass  heaven  and  earth  but  I  shall  have  you." 

I  told  him  to  try  his  best;  and  he  did  try.  He  asked  Captain  Sturt 
for  me  after  our  return  to  Adelaide,  and  came  to  see  me,  but  I  left  the 
house  when  he  came,  and  he  only  gave  up  the  chase  when  I  was  be- 
yond his  reach.  He  was  astonished  that  I  could  refuse  him.  I  think 
he  loved  himself  more  than  he  could  love  another.  His  bold  assur- 
ance and  egotistical  vanity  roused  my  national  pride  as  he  again  swore 
that  he  would  make  me  have  him.     I  rose  to  my  feet  and  said : 

"I  defy  you  sir."  And  left  him  in  what  he  called  a  secluded  spot, 
and  in  no  very  sentimental  mood. 

Mr.  Gerald,  another  of  the  governor's  aids-de-camp,   Mr.   P , 

Mr.  B and  Mr.  S of  the  coast  survey,  were  all  exceedingly 

agreeable  without  pomposity  or  egotism.  They  all  made  my  days 
pass  pleasantly.  The  weather  was  fearfully  hot,  but  we  enjoyed  our- 
selves. 

The  brightest  days  have  clouds  sometimes;  so  it  was  wnth  our*party 
at  the  Bend.  Pleasantly  as  we  were  situated,  dark  clouds  were 
looming  on  our  horizon.  Four  days  were  over  and  gone  and  our  ex- 
plorers had  not  yet  returned.  We  thought  of  course  that  they  had 
found  water  and  were  all  right.  On  the  fifth  day,  I  as  usual  was  up 
early  and  standing  at  the  tent-door  inhaling  the  fresh  morning  air, 
when  I  saw  four  horsemen  ride  into  camp.  Who  are  these?  I  men- 
tally asked.  I  was  not  long  held  in  suspense,  for  I  heard  Captain 
Sturt' s  voice.  I  ran  to  meet  him  as  I  was  the  only  one  astir  in  the 
camp.  How  strangely  the  captain  looked.  He  was  swaying  back 
and  forth  and  sideways;  one  hand  hanging  listlessly  by  his  side,  the 
other  resting  on  the  pummel  of  his  saddle.  I  saw  a  strange  look  in 
his  face.     He  threw  himself  out  of  the  saddle  and  asked  me : 

"Where  is  the  governor  and  Bryan?" 

"I  do  not  know,"  I  said. 

Then  he  muttered  something,  I  did  not  know  what.  His  words  and 
looks  were  wild;  I  was  afraid  that  he  was  out  of  his  mind.     I  ran  to 


AN  EXPLORING  EXPEDITION. 


149 


awake  Mrs.  Sturt  and  Miss  Julia.     They  both  dressed  in  a  hurry  and 
came  out.     The  captain  was  still  calling, 

"Where  is  the  governor!" 

His  wife's  arms  were  soon  around  his  neck.  Poor  Julia  screamed 
out: 

"Oh,  where  is  my  father?  where?" 

The  captain  tore  himself  from  his  wife,  and  ran  to  his  own  and  the 
governor's  tent,  calling  loudly  for  the  governor  and  Bryan;  but  they  gave 
no  response.  Mr.  Pullen  ordered  a  search-party  to  be  got  ready,  to 
go  and  find  the  missing  men,  and  bring  them  to  the  camp. 

"Great  God,  where  can  they  be?"  exclaimed  the  captain. 

Many  were  the  questions  asked  about  the  missing  men,  but  none 
could  answer.  The  three  gentlemen  who  had  ridden  into  camp  with 
the  captain  were  lying  on  the  floor  of  the  dining-tent  in  a  state  of  per- 
fect exhaustion,  but  were  tended  well  by  willing  hands.  Captain  Sturt 
was  raging  wild,  and  poor  Julia,  like  a  stricken  deer,  could  do  nothing 
but  weep  and  wring  her  hands,  and  call : 

"Where  is  my  father?  my  dear,  dear  father?" 

I  had  no  time  to  think.  I  went  to  the  cook  and  had  him  make  a 
cup  of  strong  coffee,  and  I  gave  it  to  the  captain,  and  it  worked  like  a 
charm  to  quiet  him.  He  was  able  now  to  talk  coherently.  Mr.  Pul- 
len said  to  the  captain : 

"I  have  a  search-party  ready  to  start  off  to  look  for  the  missing  ones." 

"For  God's  sake  let  them  go  at  once,  and  find  the  governor  and 
the  noble  young  fellow  who  is  with  him;  they  ought  to  have  been  here 
yesterday." 

"Where  shall  they  go?  in  what  direction?"  was  asked,  and  the 
captain  told  them  as  well  as  he  could. 

The  party  started,  but  they  had  not  gone  more  than  a  hundred  yards 
in  a  northwest  direction,  when  we  saw  a  solitary  horseman  approaching 
the  camp  from  the  west.  The  search-party  had  seen  the  equestrian, 
and  turned  back  just  in  time  to  catch  the  governor  in  their  arms,  as  he 
fell  senseless  off  his  horse,  and  was  carried  to  his  tent,  where  he  re- 
ceived the  needed  attention.  They  gave  restoratives,  but  his  mind 
was  wandering.  He  did  not  know  where  he  was;  he  could  tell  noth- 
ing of  poor  Bryan;  did  not  know  where  he  left  him.  Captain  Sturt 
ordered  the  search-party  to  proceed  on  their  search  for  Bryan,  and  off 
they  started  toward  the  west,  the  direction  whence  the  governor  came. 
We  had  harrowing  accounts  of  the  sufferings  endured  by  the  explorers. 
They  found  no  water  the  first  day  out,  as  they  had  e.\i)ected,  and  their 


1 5©  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

water  only  held  out  to  the  second  day.  Still  hoping  to  find  water,  in- 
stead of  returning,  as  they  ought  to  have  done,  they  continued  their 
search,  but  it  was  fruitless.  They  went  still  farther  inland,  till  their 
food,  as  well  as  water,  was  exhausted;  then  they  began  to  retrace  their 
steps.  The  governor  showed  signs  of  great  suffering;  his  tongue  be- 
gan to  swell  and  turn  black,  his  head  was  affected.  The  captain  be- 
came alarmed  when  he  saw  these  signs,  and  he  told  the  governor  that 
he  had  better  ride  with  all  haste  to  the  camp.  He  was  incapable  of 
taking  care  of  himself,  so  Mr.  Bryan  accompanied  him,  and  they  both 
started  straight  for  the  camp,  and  ought  to  have  been  in  more  than  a 
day  before  the  others.  After  the  two  left,  the  others  were  still  diverg- 
ing from  the  direct  route  in  hope  of  finding  water.  The  heat  was 
fearful;  the  glare  of  the  sand  was  blinding.  The  horses  were  showing 
signs  of  "knocking  up,"  as  they  say.  Their  tongues  were  hanging 
out  of  their  mouths  and  dreadfully  swollen  for  want  of  water.  One 
very  valuable  horse,  worth  $700,  fell  exhausted.  The  sufferings  of  the 
men  were  so  terrible,  that  they  fell  from  their  horses,  and  my  two 
countrymen  wished  to  be  left  in  the  desert  to  die;  they  said  they  could 
go  no  further;  they  became  delirious.  Captain  Sturt  felt  the  symptoms 
of  delirium  coming  on  himself,  his  tongue  was  beginning  to  swell;  and 
as  he  desired  to  save  the  others  if  possible,  he  cut  the  throat  of  the  dy- 
ing horse,  and  gave  each  of  the  men  a  quart  of  the  blood  to  drink. 
This  they  drank,  disgusting  as  it  was,  and  it  saved  them.  It  acted  as 
an  opiate,  and  they  all  slept  a  long  sleep,  and  awoke  refreshed,  but 
with  singularly  wild  feelings.  Their  half-dead  horses  could  hardly 
bear  them  to  the  camp.  The  poor  horses  suffered  dreadfully.  A  little 
water  at  a  time  was  given  them,  their  feet  and  legs  were  well  bathed 
with  water,  and  then  they  were  fastened  up  to  keep  them  from  the 
river.  One  of  the  finest  of  them  went  mad,  broke  away  from  his  fas- 
tenings, ran  to  the  river,  rushed  in,  looked  around  in  triumph,  then 
began  to  plunge,  and  finally  to  drink,  and  drank,  and  drank,  and  then 
fell  dead.  Poor  Georgie!  Our  provisions  were  getting  low;  we  had  not 
all  we  needed,  but  we  could  get  no  fresh  supplies.  Meantime,  the 
governor  was  as  well  attended  as  he  could  be  under  the  circumstances. 
Only  at  times  was  he  rational  during  the  first  day.  His  invariable 
answer  to  the  question, 

"Where  did  you  leave  Bryan?"  was: 

"I  do  not  know." 

By  close  questioning  at  the  right  time,  it  was  ascertained  that  as  soon 
as  the  governor  and  Bryan  left  the  party,  the  governor  grew  worse,  and 


AN  EXPLORING  EXPEDITION.  151 

fell  from  his  horse.  Bryan  did  everything  he  could  to  help  him  up, 
and  en  his  horse  again;  but  the  horse,  as  well  as  the  rider,  was  show- 
ing signs  of  exhaustion,  and  Bryan,  fearing  lest  the  governor  should 
die,  insisted  on  an  exchange  of  horses,  Bryan's  being  the  stronger  and 
fresher.  The  exchange  was  made,  and  the  last  that  was  seen  of  Bryan 
was,  when  he  told  the  governor  to  hurry  to  the  camp  while  the  horse 
had  strength  to  carry  him. 

"I  looked  back  when  I  left  Bryan,  and  saw  him  walking  slowly, 
leading  my  poor,  sick  horse;  but  I  do  not  know  where  that  was.  Soon 
after  I  left  him,  I  fell  from  my  horse  again,  and  became  unconscious, 
or  slept,  I  know  not  which,  and  how  long  I  lay  I  do  not  know.  When 
I  returned  to  consciousness  my  clothes  were  very  damp.  !My  horse 
was  quietly  standing  by  me,  and  my  arm  through  the  bridle.  I  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  on  my  feet,  and  I  tried  to  call  for  Bryan.  I  thought 
he  could  not  be  far  from  me.  I  cooeed,  and  cooeed,  but  received  no 
answering  cooey.     How  long  since,  or  where  it  was,  I  can  not  tell." 

When  this  exciting  day  drew  to  a  close,  all  were  anxious  for  the  re- 
turn of  the  search-party.  When  it  came  in  sight  several  ran  to  meet 
the  men,  and  see  or  hear  of  Bryan,  but  there  was  no  intelligence;  he 
could  not  be  found.  Captain  Sturt  was  nearly  frantic.  He  said  he 
would  go  himself,  and  search  for  the  youth  till  he  was  found;  but  he 
was  prevented  from  making  the  attempt.  He  ordered  another  party 
to  be  formed,  and  to  start  in  another  direction,  and  to  search  and  find 
Bryan,  dead  or  alive,  and  bring  him  to  camp.  The  party  started  be- 
fore sun  up,  taking  black  Bob  and  Tom  to  follow  up  Bryan's  trail,  if 
they  could  find  it.  They  could  follow  a  trail  over  a  naked  rock.  They 
had  the  sight  of  the  grayhound,  and  the  scent  of  the  bloodhound.  We 
were  all  hopeful  that  Bryan  would  be  brought  to  camp  tliis  day.  They 
got  up  to  where  the  governor  parted  with  Bryan.  They  tracked  Bryan 
in  a  different  direction  from  the  track  the  governor  took  to  get  to  the 
camp.  Another  day  of  anxious  suspense  passed,  and  the  party  re- 
turned, bringing  with  them  a  slip  of  paper,  on  which  was  written  these 
words  in  pencil:   "I  take  a  southeast  direction  from  this  place." 

They  had  found  this  paper  stuck  in  the  saddle  that  Bryan  had  taken 
off  his  horse  and  left  on  the  ground,  with  bridle  and  blanket  and  tin 
pannikin.  His  linen  coat,  vest,  necktie  and  socks  were  folded  and 
placed  beside  the  saddle.  They  saw  the  horse's  tracks,  where  he  had 
been  turned  loose,  going  one  way,  Bryan's  going  another.  It  was 
asked  why  they  did  not  follow  uj)  the  youth's  track?  They  answered: 
the  day  was  far  spent  when  they  found    the  things,   and  they  had 


152  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

neither  food  nor  water  Avith  them.  Another  party  started  off  early 
next  morning  for  the  spot  where  the  paper  was  found,  with  orders  to 
take  a  southeast  direction  till  the  river  was  reached.  Another  party 
was  dispatched  down  the  river,  to  where  the  two  parties  would  form  a 
junction,  and  they  both  were  to  search  all  round  the  country  for  the 
missing  youth.  Sundown  brought  them  all  to  camp  without  Bryan  or 
any  tidings  of  him.  His  saddle,  bridle,  blanket  and  other  things  were 
brought  to  camp.  The  Blacks  tracked  him  through  scrub  and  brush, 
till  they  came  to  a  great  sand-flat,  but  beyond  this  not  a  vestige  of 
poor  Bryan  was  ever  seen.  With  the  instinct  of  hounds.  Bob  and 
Tom  crossed  and  recrossed  the  sand-flat,  and  went  round  it,  but  beyond 
it  no  trace  could  be  found.  For  one  week  parties  were  sent  out  every 
day  in  different  directions,  but  all  efforts  put  forth  to  find  the  lost  one 
were  futile.  Conjecture  was  busy  at  work.  Where  could  Bryan  have 
gone  ?  As  far  as  the  sand-flat,  he  had  followed  the  direction  indicated 
on  his  paper;  the  same  direction  would  have  taken  him  to  the  river; 
but  beyond  the  sand-flat,  there  was  no  trace  of  him.  There  was  no 
quicksand  in  the  flat,  or  he  might  have  disappeared  in  it.  If  the 
savages  had  got  hold  of  him  and  killed  and  ate  him,  we  should  have 
found  his  bones  and  vestiges  of  fire.  Twenty-four  hours  after  he 
parted  from  the  governor,  he  could  not  have  lived  without  water,  and 
if  he  died  for  want  of  water,  we  ought  to  have  found  his  body. 
Whether  his  grave  was  in  the  stomachs  of  the  savages  or  elsewhere 
was  never  known.  His  end  was  shrouded  in  mystery.  His  spirit  had 
flown  to  God,  and  none  but  God  knew  where  his  body  lay.  It  would 
have  been  a  mournful  satisfaction  to  us  all  could  his  body  have  been 
found,  and  more  especially  to  his  brother,  his  only  relative  in  the  colo- 
ny. He  was  good  and  brave,  but  he  fell  a  sacrifice  to  government 
policy.  The  young,  handsome,  noble  youth  sleeps  a  dreamless  sleep, 
which  will  last  till  a  better  day  dawns.  When  poor  Bryan  was  lying 
faint  and  low  on  the  burning  sands,  with  swollen  tongue  and  closing 
throat,  praying  for  water,  we  in  camp,  all  unconscious  of  his  despair- 
ing cry,  were  full  of  enjoyment.  While  his  poor  body  lay  blistering  in 
the  sun,  his  eyes  starting  from  their  sockets  in  mortal  agony,  we  were 
talking  of  the  time  when  we  should  all  be  in  Adelaide  recounting  our 
travels.  His  brother  was  devoted  to  him,  and  for  months  party  after 
party  was  sent  in  search  of  the  lost  one,  but  all  to  no  purpose.  The 
horse  he  rode  was  found  three  months  afterward  alive  and  well,  but 
very  thin. 

We  had  been  looking  after  the  dead,  now  the  living  had  to  be  looked 


AN  EXPLORING  EXPEDITION.  1 53 

after.  Our  provisions,  which  were  intended  to  last  us  three  weeks,  had 
lasted  four,  but  now  they  were  exhausted,  all  but  a  few  pounds  of  green 
tea  and  a  few  pounds  of  salt  pork.  The  marine  party,  having  been  longer 
out  than  was  expected,  had  also  run  out  of  provisions,  and  with  them 
we  had  to  divide  our  little  to  help  them  on  their  voyage  down  the 
river.  We  of  the  land  party  had  the  waterless  desert  to  cross  in  which 
our  unfortunate  explorers  had  suffered  so  much.  Black  Tom  v.as  se- 
cured and  put  on  board  of  a  boat,  with  orders  to  keep  him  secure  till 
he  reached  Lake  Alexandrina.  A  courier  was  sent  to  Adelaide  to  the 
Government  Commissariat  to  send  provisions  to  meet  our  party.  We 
had  lost  three  fine  horses,  and  consequently  had  to  lighten  our  loads. 
I  left  my  trunk  and  some  of  my  clothes  on  the  banks  of  the  Murray, 
not  to  mark  the  spot  to  future  travelers,  but  because  I  could  not  carry 
them.  We  had  no  provisions  to  pack,  but  we  filled  every  vessel  we 
could  with  water.  The  cheerless  prospect  of  nine  days'  travel  across 
a  trackless,  waterless  desert  was  gloomy  indeed,  but  we  must  cross  it 
if  possible.  The  sad,  sad  events  of  the  last  week  rested  like  a  pall 
upon  our  spirits.  Whether  it  was  our  prospect  or  our  retrospect  that 
we  considered,  our  burden  of  gloom  was  heavy  enough.  We  struck 
our  tents,  had  them  packed  on  wagons,  and  I  was  perched  on  top  of 
a  wagon  full  of  tents  and  mattresses;  I  had  no  horse  to  ride.  We 
turned  our  backs  on  the  great  Northwest  Bend  a  sad  and  silent  party. 
I  was  greatly  oppressed  and  cast  down.  I  felt  as  if  our  troubles  were 
not  over.  None  but  God  could  give  us  strength  to  endure  what  I 
feared  was  still  before  us. 

"Let  not  your  heart  with  anxious  thought  be  troubled  or  dismayed, 
But  trust  in  God  your  Father's  care,  and  trust  my  gracious  aid." 

The  first  day  we  crossed  a  level  plain  a  few  miles  wide.  Its  surface 
was  composed  of  red  sand  and  clay,  with  a  mixture  of  calcareous 
limestone  nodules.  The  very  nature  of  this  soil  was  hot,  and  nothing 
could  grow  on  it.  We  reached  a  spot  where  grew  a  few  stunted 
bushes  here  and  there.  The  day  had  been  fearfully  hot,  and  man  and 
beast  were  exhausted.  Here  we  encamped  for  the  night.  The  salt 
pork  was  cooked ;  we  had  no  flour,  so  we  could  have  no  damper,  but 
the  tea  was  boiled.  I  drank  some  of  the  tea,  but  felt  no  inclination  to 
eat  the  pork.  A  hot  wind,  fierce  as  the  breath  of  a  furnace,  blew  in 
gusts  that  made  the  flesh  shrink  as  if  touched  by  ahot  iron.  No  one  who 
has  never  felt  it,  can  conceive  the  withering  effect  of  such  a  heat.  We 
retired  early,  but  I  could  not  sleep.    I  arose  before  the  sun  and  walked 


1^4  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

forth  a  short  distance.  I  ascended  and  took  a  seat  upon  a  high  cHff 
which  overlooked  the  camp;  I  wished  to  see  a  sunrise  in  this  arid 
region.  I  watched  the  young  Hght  wax  stronger,  and  its  radiance  in- 
crease, till  it  filled  the  whole  heaven.  Then  the  sun  showed  his  upper 
rim  above  the  horizon,  and  rolled  a  globe  of  fierce  splendor  into  space. 
Everything  looked  still  and  solemn,  as  if  the  spirit  of  the  air  was  ly- 
ing in  quiet  along  the  face  of  the  earth;  but  suddenly  a  rushing,  mighty 
wind  beneath  me  swept  over  the  camp,  overturning  tents  and  tarpau- 
lins, and  everything  that  offered  any  resistance  to  its  impetuosity. 
Our  marquee  was  tilted  over  as  if  it  had  been  a  paper  tent,  and  Miss 
Julia  in  her  terror  started  from  her  bed  and  ran  about  in  her  night 
dress,  and  did  not  know  where  to  hide.  I  called  to  her  to  lie  down 
and  cover  herself  with  the  sheet.  I  rose  from  my  seat  to  run  to  her; 
had  the  cliff  been  less  high  I  might  have  leaped  down  and  been  with 
her  in  a  minute,  but  I  had  to  go  back  and  descend  the  way  I  came. 
•  As  I  was  running  down  the  hill,  I  met  the  governor  coming  up.  His 
greeting  was  always  pleasant. 

"Why  so  early  on  the  brow  of  the  cliff?"  he  asked. 
"I  wanted  to  see  the  sun  rise,"  I  said. 

He  asked  if  Julia  was  up.     I  described  the  scene  I  had  witnessed 
from  the  top  of  the  cliff,  and  said : 
"I  am  now  going  to  her  assistance." 

"Good  girl,"  he  said;  I  shall  go  with  you,  and  see  if  she  is  hurt." 
When  we  reached  the  marquee,  Julia  was  cowering  on  the  ground, 
and  Mrs.  Sturt  struggling  under  the  canvas.  We  liberated  Mrs.  Sturt, 
and  while  the  governor  went  for  assistance  to  raise  the  tent,  I  hunted 
up  some  garments,  and  helped  to  dress  the  two  frightened  ladies.  As 
we  had  no  cooking  to  do,  we  were  soon  en  route.  Soon  after  starting 
we  entered  a  dense  brush  of  cypress  and  eucalypti,  growing  in  pure 
sand;  through  this  it  was  impossible  to  take  a  direct  or  correct  course. 
A  road  had  to  be  cut  through,  and  when  it  was  cut  and  cleared  for  a 
short  distance,  the  wagons  sank  deep  into  the  loose  sand  in  which 
these  trees  were  growing.  The  toil  and  labor  and  delay  of  cutting 
through  this  belt  of  sombre  cypress  and  pines  and  acacia  were  dread- 
ful. We  had  no  fresh  water  that  day,  our  supply  ran  out,  and  all  were 
suffering.  I  had  not  tasted  food  for  two  days.  I  did  not  feel  hungry, 
but  I  did  feel  light-headed.  Ere  we  halted  for  the  night,  we  came 
across  a  party  who  had  come  overland  from  New  South  Wales  with  cat- 
tle. Their  provisions  were  nearly  exhausted,  but  they  shared  with  us 
what  they  had,  a  little  flour,  enough  to  make  a  damper,  some  rum,  and 


AN  EXPLORING  EXPEDITION.  155 

a  few  raisins.  The  men  found  a  water-hole;  I  was  greatly  rejoiced  at 
the  discovery.  A  glass  of  this  precious  liquid  was  handed  to  me  to 
drink,  and  I  was  so  eager  to  have  it  that  I  swallowed  a  great  mouthful 
of  it  ere  I  discovered  that  it  was  bitterly  salt.  I  dashed  the  glass  to 
the  ground  in  my  disappointment.  I  was  made  deathly  sick  by  what 
I  had  swallowed,  and  vomited  till  I  was  completely  exhausted.  I  could 
not  undress  myself,  and  lay  down  on  the  ground.  All  night  I  suffered 
horribly.  The  salt-water  did  not  seem  to  hurt  the  others.  Next  morn- 
ing I  had  no  toilet  to  make,  so  was  ready  to  start  as  soon  as  I  rose  from 
my  pallet,  and  this  was  Christmas  morning.  Our  flour  and  raisins 
were  saved  to  make  a  raisin  damper  for  this  day.  The  last  of  our  tea 
had  been  boiled,  and  the  damper,  dotted  with  raisins,  looked  very 
much  like  the  one  I  had  first  seen  made  at  Currency  Creek,  but  not  so 
palatable,  inasmuch  as  this  was  made  of  salt-water,  and  the  other  of 
fresh.  I  remembered  the  cook's  wish,  that  I  might  be  glad  to  eat  a 
worse  damper  than  he  was  then  making.  That  time  had  come.  Tears 
started  to  my  eyes  when  I  thought  how  I  had  scorned  the  first  damper. 
Here  was  a  damper  filling  a  large  space,  heavy,  and  not  half  cooked, 
and  some  green  tea  boiled^ with  salt-water,  and  drunk  without  milk  or 
sugar.  These  dainties  were  placed  before  fifteen  hungry  men  and 
women,  who  did  ample  justice  to  the  Christmas  breakfast.  The  sugar- 
less salt-water  tea  .to  me  was  simply  poisonous,  to  taste  it  made  me  sick. 
Some  rum  was  put  into  the  salt-water,  and  given  to  me  to  allay  the 
sickness,  but  that  was  equally  sickening.  Mrs.  Sturt  and  Miss  Julia 
ate  of  the  damper,  drank  of  the  tea,  and  also  of  the  rum  and  water,  and 
were  not  made  sick  by  them,  and,  consequently,  they  felt  stronger  than 
I  did.  The  Christmas  day  before,  I  was  lying  in  a  hospital  burning 
with  fever.  Now  I  was  in  a  inhospitable  region — a  burning  desert — 
without  food  or  water,  a  strong,  hot  wind  driving  clouds  of  red  dust 
around  us,  and  flies  innumerable  tormenting  us.  The  Australian  hot 
winds  are  as  dry  and  hot  as  the  breath  of  a  furnace.  One's  head  reels 
from  the  intensity  of  the  sunshine.  It  occasioned  us  intense  thirst, 
which,  alas,  we  were  not  able  to  quench.  The  blistering  heat  had 
broken  all  our  combs  and  brushes,  so  we  had  to  go  unkempt.  We  had 
no  soap,  and  when  we  washed  in  the  salt-water,  the  red  dust  was  firmly 
caked  on  our  skins,  and  the  heat  baked  it  and  burned  it  in;  so  we  were 
masked  in  red  clay.  I  had  only  one  dress,  and  it  was  wearing  ofl"  my 
back  in  pieces.  I  had  left  all  I  could  not  carry  at  the  Bend,  and  I 
could  not  make  a  change.  After  wc  had  eaten  our  Christmas  dinner, 
we  resumed  our  toilsome  journey.     The  equestrians  were  mounted,  I 


156  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

was  lifted  to  the  top  of  the  wagon,  and  hud  on  a  mattress  deathly  sick, 
and  there  I  lay  blistering  in  the  sun  all  day.  In  the  afternoon,  my  at- 
tention was  directed  to  a  single  horseman, riding  as  fast  as  his  weakened 
horse  could  carry  him.  I  wondered  who  it  could  be,  as  our  equestrians 
always  rode  ahead  of  the  wagons.  I  raised  my  head  with  great  effort. 
We  were  just  emerging  from  the  densest  part  of  the  wilderness,  but 
keeping  near  the  trees  for  what  shade  they  could  give  us.  I  wished  to 
see  the  horseman,  but  my  head  came  butt  against  the  limb  of  a  tree, 
and  nearly  stunned  me,  and  tore  my  chip  bonnet  all  to  pieces.  Had 
my  head  been  raised  an  inch  higher,  my  neck  must  have  been  broken 
or  dislocated.  The  horseman  rode  up  to  the  side  of  the  wagon,  hat  in 
hand,  and  his  bare  head  exposed  to  the  sun's  fierce  heat.  He  handed 
the  hat  to  me.  I  had  had  such  a  blow  on  the  head,  and  felt  so  stunned, 
that  I  could  hardly  speak  to  Mr.  F ,  who  had  ridden  a  long  dis- 
tance out  of  the  way,  to  where  black  Bob  said  he  knew  a  kind  of  fruit 
grew,  to  get  some  for  me.  He  thought  I  was  going  to  die,  and  to  save 
me  he  had  exposed  himself  to  sunstroke  and  sudden  death,  that  he 
might  carry  the  fruit  in  his  hat.  The  fruit  was  a  small,  bright,  crimson- 
colored  kind  of  peach  or  apricot.  It  was  the  fruit  of  the  quandong,  a 
tree  that  grows  only  in  the  sandy  plains  of  the  interior.  It  had  a  string- 
ent, pungent  taste.  I  would  not  prefer  it  to  a  peach  or  apricot,  had  I 
a  choice.  As  it  was,  I  took  the  little  red  things  as  a  godsend.  I  ate, 
and  was  refreshed.  I  kept  some  for  Mrs.  Sturt  and  Miss  Julia,  when 
we  should  meet  at  camping  time.  ' '  The  young  lions  do  lack  and  suffer 
hunger,  but  they  who  seek  the  Lord  shall  not  want  any  good  thing." 
Like  the  young  lions,  I  was  suffering  hunger,  and,  worse  than  hunger, 
thirst.  But  the  Lord  was  kind;  he  gave  me  strength  of  mind  to  sup- 
port my  sinking  body.  I  felt  so  completely  in  his  hand,  under  his  pro- 
tecting wing,  I  had  neither  fears  nor  anxieties.     Now  in  my  weakened 

state,  he  put  it  into  Mr.  F 's  head  to  bring  me  quandongs,  that  for 

the  time  refreshed  me.  The  quandong  I  had  never  seen  or  tasted  be- 
fore that  time,  nor  have  I  seen  or  tasted  it  since  that  memorable  day. 

I  felt  truly  grateful  to  Mr.  F ,  as  an  instrument  in  God's  hand,  for 

bringing  me  the  berries,  at  the  dreadful  risk  he  ran  to  himself.  Our 
traveling  was  very  slow.  The  poor  horses  were  very  weak ;  they  could 
hardly  walk,  and  their  feet  sank  in  the  sand  at  every  step.  The 
wagons  also  sank  deep,  so  that  it  was  almost  impossible  for  the  poor, 
dumb,  patient,  weak  horses  to  pull  them.  We  encamped  as  the  sun 
went  down.  There  was  silence  in  the  camp;  there  was  no  more  busy, 
bustling  preparation  for  dinner;  we  had  no  food,  no  water.    Our  tents 


AN  EXPLORING  EXPEDITION.  157 

were  pitched,  and  we  lay  down.  I  would  not  have  given  "my  king- 
dom for  a  horse,"  but  I  would  have  given  all  I  possessed  for  a  drink 
of  water.  Our  bullocks  strayed  away  in  the  night  looking  for  water, 
and  delayed  us  a  long  time  looking  for  them.  Thus  far  our  party  kept 
pretty  well  together.  If  we  scattered  somewhat  in  the  day,  we  always 
mustered  at  sundown. 

The  heads  of  the  party  held  a  consultation,  and  it  was  decided  to 
divide  into  four  companies.  His  Excellency  with  his  aid-de-camp  and 
orderly  were  to  go  one  way.  Captain  Inman  and  a  mounted  trooper  to 
go  another,  and  Captain  and  Mrs.  Sturt  and  Miss  Julia  to  go  another. 
The  wagon  that  I  was  on  was  given  in  charge  to  my  two  disagreeable 
countrymen.  All  were  to  look  for  water,  but  to  press  steadily  on. 
We  were  to  follow  in  Captain  Sturt's  trail,  the  small  feet  of  Miss  Julia's 
pony  were  to  guide  us,  and  we  were  all  to  meet  at  a  certain  place  at 
sundown.  The  agony  that  I  suffered  that  day  was  fearful.  When 
Miss  Julia  kissed  me  good-bye,  and  mounted  her  pony  and  rode  off,  I 
said  farewell  with  a  feeling  that  we  should  meet  no  more  on  earth.  I 
was  realizing  what  dying  in  a  desert  for  want  of  water  was.  I  was 
lifted  upon  the  wagon  more  dead  than  alive.  I  had  a  raging  headache. 
My  brain  seemed  as  if  it  were  boiling.  I  turned  on  my  face.  I  was 
perfectly  quiet.  I  thought  my  moments  were  numbered.  On  all  sides 
the  desert — the  hot,  burning  desert,  the  lonely,  silent  desert,  the  shin- 
ing, waterless  desert.  This  was  what  we  were  passing  through.  My 
two  countrymen  had  gained  some  experience  on  the  trip  they  had  with 
Captain  Sturt.    They  were  able  to  endure  more  now  than  they  could  do 

then.     Mr.   King  had  lost  his  horse,  and  Mr.  C put  his  as  an 

extra  horse  to  the  wagon  to  help  it  along,  and  the  two  gentlemen 
walked.  A  hot  wind  was  sweeping  over  the  plain,  uninterrupted  by 
hill  or  tree,  and  we  felt  all  its  fury.  What  suffering  I  endured  that 
day  no  tongue  can  tell.  Nothing  passed  before  our  agonized  vision, 
no  sound  fell  upon  our  ears.  Indeed,  every  sound  of  insect,  or  song 
of  bird,  would  have  been  strangely  out  of  harmony  in  such  a  place. 
Everything  had  retired  from  the  withering  heat  and  blinding  glare. 
Silence,  the  most  profound  and  death-like,  reigned — a  fit  companion 
for  such  desolation.  It  was  terrible.  We  journeyed  on  that  day — a 
day  never  to  be  forgotten — heeding  not  the  smiting  sunlight,  nor  heat, 
nor  hunger,  nor  thirst,  nor  fatigue,  nor  danger,  thinking  that  death 
would  soon  release  one  at  least  of  the  gasping,  weary  wayfarers.  The 
plain  over  which  we  were  passing  seemed  interminable.  We  came 
across  a  tent  which  belonged  to  a  party  who  had  come   from  New 


158  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

South  Wales  with  horses  and  cattle.  They  had  seen  trouble  by  the 
way.     Their  provisions  were  all  gone,  but  they  had  wine  and  spirits. 

Mr.  C asked  me  if  I  could  take  anything.    I  answered,  with  great 

effort : 

"Fresh  water." 

They  had  none.  Would  I  take  wine  ?  I  shook  my  head.  Would 
I  take  a  little  spirits  mixed  with  the  salt-water  ?  I  shook  my  head. 
My  tongue  was  cleaving  to  my  mouth.  I  could  not  speak.  They 
brought  me  a  pint  pannikin  full  of  porter;  it  was  not  fiery  or  salt,  and 
when  once  I  had  put  it  to  my  mouth  I  drank  it  all  up,  and  wanted 
more,  but  they  were  afraid  to  give  me  more ;  they  feared  that  I  had 
taken  too  much  already.  I  was  beginning  to  be  out  of  my  mind,  and 
could  I  have  got  it,  I  should  have  drunk  a  gallon.  Of  course,  it 
would  have  killed  me,  as  water  killed  the  poor  horse  Georgie.  I  was 
incapable  of  the  least  exertion.  Fearful  were  my  sufferings;  they 
thought  I  was  about  to  die.  I  called  for  my  mother,  and  then  lay 
down  again  on  my  face.  I  lay  more  dead  than  alive.  The  day  was 
far  spent,  and  we  had  not  overtaken  the  captain,  as  we  ought  to  have 

done  before  that  time.     Mr.  C and  Mr.  R were  talking  in 

deep,  earnest  tones,  and  in  alarm.  One  of  them  called  to  me.  I  tried 
to  raise  my  head,  but  the  effort  was  dreadful.  He  pointed  to  the  sun, 
which  was  far  out  on  his  western  journey.  I  saw  his  broad  and  lurid 
face  approaching  the  horizon,  which  seemed  to  be  an  ocean  of  fire.  I 
laid  my  head  down  again ;  I  could  not  hold  it  up.  These  two  brave 
young  men  seemed  to  be  in  great  trouble  about  something,  but  I  took 
no  interest  in  it,  or  in  anything.     Finally  they  told  me  they  were  lost. 

"Lost!"  I  exclaimed. 

"Yes,  lost,"  they  repeated.  "We  have  followed  the  pony's  tracks 
till  we  find  it  is  not  with  the  horses,  and  we  can  find  nothing  of  Cap- 
tain Sturt's  tracks  at  all,  nor  any  of  the  other  parties,  which  were  all 
to  meet  ere  this  time.     What  shall  we  do?" 

I  was  asked  this  question  by  Mr.  R .     I  had  no  answer  to  give, 

for  I  knew  not  what  was  to  be  done.  Lost !  lost  in  a  desert  drear, 
alone  with  seven  men.  I  could  not  realize  the  situation,  though  I 
heard  all  that  was  said.  I  felt  that  I  must  die  in  a  very  short  time, 
and  it  was  of  very  little  consequence  where  I  was.  The  young  men 
asked  me  what  they  should  do ;  if  I  said  the  word,  they  would  travel 
all  night,  or  if  I  wished,  they  would  camp  at  once  by  a  clump  of  trees 
they  saw  in  the  distance.  I  told  them,  as  well  as  I  could,  to  do  what 
they  thought  best;  I  could  not  tell  them  what  to  do.     This  did  not 


AN  EXPLORING  EXPEDITION. 


^59 


suit  them;  they  were  evidently  very  uneasy.  They  explained  and 
said,  that  if  they  were  out  of  the  right  course,  as  they  feared  they 
were,  if  they  went  on  all  night  they  might  never  get  back  to  the  right 
course,  but  if  they  halted  now,  they  could  retrace  their  steps  in  the 
early  light,  and  try  and  find  the  lost  tracks  of  the  others. 

"But  you  must  give  the  order  to  halt  or  proceed;  you  are  a  great 
responsibility  to  us,  and  were  anything  to  happen  to  you  we  must  take 
the  consequences,  and  we  fear,"  said  Mr.  R . 

I  could  not  understand  their  fear,  or  their  responsibility,  when  that 
morning  everybody  thought  that  I  must  die  before  night,  and  what 
did  it  all  amount  to?  But  they  urged  me  to  say  what  was  to  be  done, 
and  I  said: 

"Halt  at  the  first  convenient  spot." 

And  when  we  reached  the  clump  of  trees  we  halted.  I  was  lifted 
very  carefully  to  the  ground  and  covered  with  a  cloak  as  with  a  pall, 
and  he  who  covered  me  thoil^ht  that  that  cloak  would  be  my  winding- 
sheet,  and  he  covered  me  very  tenderly,  as  a  kind  nurse  would  cover 

a  sleeping  child,  to  be  left  there  till  the  resurrection  morn.    Mr.  S , 

our  taxidermist,  and  Mr.  R were  putting  up  the  marquee  for  me, 

while  Mr.  C had  taken  a  gun  in  hand  to  see  if  perhaps  he  could 

shoot  a  parrot  or  cockatoo  for  supper.  Isaac,  who  drove  me  tandem 
the  first  two  days  out,  went  to  make  a  fire  to  give  a  light  to  the  camp. 
The  bullock  drivers  were  all  busy  with  their  beasts ;  poor,  thirsty,  tired 
things,  they  slaked  or  tried  to  slake  their  thirst  at  a  little  mudhole 
the  size  of  a  man's  hand,  from  which  salt-water  oozed.  While  all 
this  was  going  on,  I  was  thinking,  or  imagining,  that  I  was  at  home 
with  my  mother;  I  was  sick  and  she  was  nursing  me,  oh,  how  ten- 
derly. Then  she  thrust  me  from  her,  and  I  did  not  know' where  I 
was,  and  presently  I  would  hear  men's  voices  as  if  in  a  dream.  Then 
I  would  try  and  call, 

"Oh,  mother." 

But  no  mother's  ear  was  near  to  hear  the  dying  cry;  no  kind  nurse 
even  to  smooth  my  pillow — I  had  no  pillow — not  even  one  of  my  own 
sex  near  to  close  my  eyes.  To  die  alone  in  the  desert,  far,  far  away 
from  home !  What  would  my  mother  think,  did  she  know  that  her 
child  perished  in  the  wilderness  for  want  of  food  and  water.  To  die 
so  young,  well,  that  is  well;  but  if  I  could  only  see  my  mother;  and 
I  sobbed  aloud.  My  mind  wandered  back  and  forth.  I  was  weary 
and  committed  myself  to  God,  and  was  composed.  As  I  lay  there,  a 
promise,  by  whom  written,  or  where  recorded,  I  knew  not,  entered 


l6o  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

my  mind  and  remained  there.  It  was:  "Thy  bread  shall  be  given 
thee,  and  thy  water  shall  be  sure."  Here  am  I  dying  in  the  wilder- 
ness for  want  of  bread  and  water,  and  this  new  thought  haunts  me. 
Surely  God  has  sent  this  thought  to  give  me  hope.  Long  after  that 
night  I  read  in  the  23d  chapter  of  Isaiah,  i6th  verse:  "Bread  shall 
be  given  him,  his  water  shall  be  sure."  I  became  inspired  with  the 
idea  that  I  should  not  die  for  want  of  bread  and  water.  This  thought 
clung  to  me.  I  heard  a  tremendous  report  as  if  a  gun  had  been  fired 
over  me.  I  uncovered  my  head,  and  to  my  great  horror  saw  poor 
Isaac  crawling  toward  me  on  his  hands  and  knees,  with  blood  pouring 
from  his  face.     Mr.  C ,  with  gun  in  hand,  was  standing  near  by. 

"Oh,"  I  exclaimed,   "C has  shot  Isaac  through  the  head." 

Where    the  strength  came  from  I  know  not,  but  I  sprang  to  my 

feet  and  was  at  Mr.  C 's  side  in  a  twinkling,  took  hold  of  his  arm, 

and  cried : 

"Oh,  Mr.  C ,  have  you  shot  Isaac?" 

Just  as  I  laid  hold  of  his  arm,  I  heard  him  exclaim ; 

"Good  God,  what  was  that?" 

I  left  him,  and  went  to  poor  Isaac,  who  was  still  crawling  toward 
where  I  had  lain.  I  took  him  by  the  shoulders,  and  pulled  him  back 
upon  his  back  on  the  ground,  and  bent  over  him,  and  took  one  of  his 
eyeballs,  that  was  lying  on  his  cheek,  into  my  hand,  and  put  it  into  its 
socket.  His  face  was  all  torn,  his  nose  split,  and  his  right  cheek  torn 
right  off;  he  was  dreadfully  mangled.     Just  then  I   felt  strong  arms 

around  me,  I  was  lifted  right  up,  and  carried  by  Mr.  R to  where 

I  had  been  lying,  and  again  laid  down. 

"That  is  no  sight  for  you,  miss,"  he  said. 

I  felt  all  the  strength  leave  my  body,  and  was  as  weak  as  I  had  been 
a  short  time  before.  The  supernatural  strength,  that  for  a  minute  or 
two  had  been  lent  me,  was  gone,  and  I  was  perfectly  helpless.     Mr. 

C asked  me  to  let  them  have  the  rum  to  wash  Isaac's  wounds.     I 

told  them  to  take  it,  but  I  did  not  know  where  it  was.  They  knew, 
but  wanted  my  permission.  Isaac  had  been  about  to  make  a  fire; 
struck  a  flint,  and  was  pouring  some  powder  from  a  flask  on  the 
spark,  when  it  ignited,  burst  the  flask  into  shivers,  and  sent  powder 
and  bullets  about  Isaac's  head,  chest  and  arms  with  terrible  force.  His 
wounds  were  dressed  as  well  as  the  circumstances  would  allow,  but  he 

could  not  live  till  morning,  so  thought  all  the  party.    Mr.  C asked 

me  if  I  would  let  them  lay  Isaac  in  one  end  of  the  marquee,  as  they 
did  not  think  he  could  live  many  hours.     Of  course,  I  allowed  them. 


AN  EXPLORING  EXPEDITION.  l6l 

They  thought  that  when  they  started  next  morning,  they  would  have 
two  corpses  to  leave  in  the  desert  instead  of  one.  The  poor  fellow  was 
carried  into  the  shelter  of  the  tent.  The  man  who  had  made  the  Cur- 
rency Creek  damper  had  never  forgiven  me  for  despising  his  work;  he 
was  vindictive,  and  he  sat  at  the  camp-fire,  the  very  incarnation  of 
malignity.  While  he  thought  that  I  was  helpless  and  dying,  he  was 
indulging  in  coarse  jokes. 

"The  dainty  miss  would  be  glad  of  a  piece  of  my  damper,  but  she 
may  die  without  it.  She  wont  be  able  to  help  herself  to-night,  as  I  go 
in  and  out  of  the  tent.  Ha!  ha!  I  have  a  grudge  against  her.  Ha! 
ha!  "  and  the  fiend  laughed. 

**0  God,  spread  thy  covering  wing  around  me,  and  take  me  home 
in  peace,  and  save  me,"  was  my  mental  cry. 

The  wretch  did  not  know  I  heard  him,  nor  did  he  know  another 

heard  him,  till  Mr.  R like  lightning  sprang  from  the  tent  door  and 

confronted  the  caitiff,  with  his  handsome  face  all  ablaze  with  anger,  and 
his  eyes  glowing  like  coals.  He  took  a  most  threatening  attitude, 
and  said : 

"At  your  peril,  enter,  or  attempt  to  enter,  that  tent  to-night,  and  I 
will  shoot  you  dead  on  the  spot." 

"Oh,  sir,"  said  the  craven,  "I  was  anxious  to  wait  on  Isaac,  for  you 
know  he  ought  to  be  waited  on." 

"Mr.  C and  I  will  keep  watch  and  ward,  one  inside  and  one 

outside,  all  night,"  said  Mr.  R . 

At  that  moment  a  pony  ran  past  us,  then  doubled  on  its  track  and 
ran  round  the  tent,  with  a  broken  bridle  trailing  on  the  ground,  and  a 
saddle  hanging  under  its  body.  When  I  saw  the  pony  running  fran- 
tically past,  I  cried  out: 

"Merciful  Father,  that  is  Julia's  pony,  and  she  is  killed.  What  is 
to  become  of  us  all?  And  Mrs.  Sturt,  where  is  she  ?  She  has  no  tent 
to  cover  her.  Oh,  dear  Julia,  I  thought  you  would  be  restored  safe  to 
your  mother's  arms,  who  would  have  been  happy  to  receive  you.  She 
will  regret  giving  you  for  a  sacrifice  to  government  policy." 

I  thought  of  my  mother,  and  groaned.  Oh,  what  mental  agony  and 
physical  pain  I  had  to  endure  that  night.  When  all  had  parted  with 
me  the  previous  morning,  they  thought  I  must  die,  and  I  was  indiffer- 
ent as  to  life  or  death;  I  thought  all  was  well  with  me  any  way.  But 
a  rush  of  events  had  come  thick  and  fast  since  noon,  and  it  seemed  to 
be  impossible  for  me  to  be  indifferent,  or  insensible  to  the  fate  of  others. 
I  had  often  heard  it  said,  that  troubles  do  not  come  singly,  but  in 
II 


l62  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

troops.  This  may  be  a  wise  ordination  of  Providence.  One  great 
trouble  unhinges  the  springs  of  the  mind;  another,  and  another  comes, 
and  we  are  compelled  to  think,  and  through  thinking  and  suffering,  we 
regain  our  equilibrium.  I  did  more  thinking  that  night  than  I  had 
done  for  some  time  before.  First  I  thought  of  being  lost  in  a  vast 
desert,  alone  with  seven  men,  without  food  or  water;  then  I  saw  evi- 
dent consternation  in  the  officers  of  our  party  at  our  condition,  which 
was  most  painful.  In  addition,  was  the  horrible  spectacle  of  poor 
Isaac;  and  again.  Miss  Julia's  pony  rushing  by,  and  her  uncertain 
fate.  Indeed,  the  uncertainty  of  the  whole  party,  and  then  the  mean 
craven  by  the  camp-fire  with  his  coarse  speech,  and  the  sudden 
transformation  of  a  man  from  being  disliked,  because  of  a  light,  jeering 
tone  he  had  always  used  toward  me  when  I  was  surrounded  by  friends, 
to  a  very  guardian  angel,  a  protector  and  a  friend,  when  I  most  needed 
one.  When  sick,  helpless  and  alone,  surrounded  by  danger,  he  stood 
forth  a  noble  character  between  it  and  me.     My  heart  thanked  God 

for  his  protecting  care.     Mr.   C spread  my  mattress,  and  Mr. 

R carried  me  to  it,  and  laid  me  down  as  gently  as  a  tender  mother 

could  have  done.  He  untied  the  strings  of  my  torn  bonnet,  and  took 
it  off  my  head,  and  he  untied  my  worn  boots,  and  covered  me  up,  and 
left  me  to  sleep  or  to  die;  but  I  did  neither.  The  pony  was  caught, 
and  a  gentleman's  saddle  was  found  hanging  to  it;  so  it  was  not  Julia's. 

I  lay  on  one  side  of  the  tent,  and  Isaac  on  the  other,  in  the  dark- 
ness.    After  a  while,  R and  C came  into  the  _glooni  with  a 

shaded  light,  and  sat  down  on  the  ground  beside  the  dying  man.  One 
asked  him  if  he  were  afraid  to  die.  The  answer  came  faint  and  low, 
but  in  earnest  tones:  "I  fear  not  to  die."  Another  question:  "Do 
you  think  you  are  going  to  die?"  "I  fear  I  am."  "Are  you  pre- 
pared to  die?"      "I  do  not  know," 

Mr.  C went  to  watch  outside,  while  Mr.  R took  from  his 

pocket  a  small,  well-worn  Bible,  a  mother's  gift,  and  began  to  read, 
both  from  the  Psalrris  and  the  New  Testament,  and  prayed  for  the  dy- 
ing man.  The  tones  were  tremulous,  but  full  of  pathos.  No  poet,  no 
painter,  could  color  to  the  mind  or  eye  a  brighter  or  darker  picture 
than  was  the  reality  before  me.  One  man,  lying  on  his  back  on  the 
ground,  with  clasped  hands  reverently  raised,  his  head  entirely  envel- 
oped in  bandages,  moaning  hopelessly,  nothing  bright  in  the  future  of 
time,  or  eternity  for  him.  On  the  floor  stood  a  dim  light  between  him 
and  another  man  in  the  strength  and  beauty  of  young  manhood,  kneel- 
ing with  bowed  head,  supplicating  the  Divine  Father,  to  prepare  the 


AN  EXPLORING  EXPEDITION.  1 63 

Other  for  death,  and  to  give  him  peace  and  hope  ere  his  lamp  of  life 
went  out. 

I,  on  the  other  side,  in  deep  shadow,  bowed  in  spirit  before  my 
heavenly  Father,  asking  him  to  shelter  my  soul,  and  give  me  a  cheer- 
ful hope  in  passing  away.  Mr.  C now  took  his  turn  to  watch  in- 
side beside  the  wounded  man,  while  the  other  went  out.  Neither  of 
these  two  looked  toward  the  darkness  wherein  I  was  shrouded.  They 
knew  they  could  do  nothing  to  help  me,  and  their  delicacy  prevented 
them  speaking  to  me.  They  both  knew  how  heartily  I  had  disliked 
them  for  their  teasing  propensities,  and  they  did  not  now  intrude  on 
my  silence.  They  did  not  know  what  a  revolution  had  been  wrought 
on  my  heart  and  mind  toward  them  in  the  last  few  hours.  I  now 
looked  upon  them  as  friends,  and  brothers,  and  guardians,  for  the  time 
being.  I  saw  them  in  their  true  character  now.  As  the  night  advanced, 
I  felt  no  inclination  to  sleep,  and  I  felt  less  like  dying  than  I  did  the 
last  three  days.  I  thought  of  all  God's  mercies  to  me  in  the  midst  of 
perils.  He  did  not  cleave  the  rock  that  water  might  flow  for  me 
to  quench  my  burning  thirst,  but  he  gave  me  strength  to  bear  it  with- 
out repining.  ' '  Thy  bread  shall  be  given,  and  thy  water  shall  be  sure, ' ' 
again  and  again  rang  through  my  thoughts.  I  have  often  wondered 
why  I  did  not  die  that  night.  Day  dawned;  Isaac  and  I  were  both 
alive,  and,  wonderful  to  relate,  were  both  able  to  rise  without  help.  I 
fastened  my  worn  boots  on  my  feet,  and  my  torn  bonnet  on  my  head, 
and  my  toilet  was  complete.  I  stepped  out  of  the  tent  to  the  great 
surprise  of  all,  and  especially  of  myself.  My  two  new  made  friends 
were  delighted  to  see  me  on  my  feet  again.  The  sun,  as  he  shot  his 
rays  above  the  eastern  horizon,  promised  no  mercy  from  his  blinding 
glare  or  scorching  heat.  My  prayer,  as  I  stood  at  the  tent  door  next 
morning,  was,  that  God  might  give  me  strength  to  endure  whatever  was 
before  me  on  my  journey. 

The  tent  was  taken  down,  and  was  being  packed,  and  I  was  ready 
to  be  lifted  to  my  place  on  top,  when  we  found  that  the  bullocks  had 
strayed  away  looking  for  water.  While  waiting  for  them,  I  saw  two 
black  specks  in  the  distance.  They  were  moving;  they  came  nearer 
and  nearer  to  us,  and,  Oh,  joy !  I  discovered  Captain  Sturt  as  one  of 
the  objects,  but  could  not  run  to  meet  him ;  the  other  was  a  savage. 
Both  were  mounted.  As  soon  as  they  came  near  enough  to  speak. 
Captain  Sturt's  salutation  to  the  officers  of  the  party  was: 

"Where  the  d— 1  have  you  been  since  yesterday  morning?" 


164  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE, 

They  explained  how  they  had  lost  their  way  in  following  a  wrong 
track. 

"Eliza,"  and  the  irate  captain  looked  straight  into  my  eyes  while 
he  spoke;  "Did  these  men  lose  their  way  designedly,  or  accidentally?" 

I  had  no  hesitation  in  saying  accidentally.     Again  he  asked : 

"Were  they  drunk  or  sober?" 

"Perfecdy  sober,"  I  responded.     Again  he  asked: 

' '  Are  you  perfecdy  satisfied  with  their  conduct  toward  you  since  we 
parted?" 

I  thought  for  a  moment  of  the  craven  who  sat  by  the  fire,  and  won- 
dered what  I  should  say  of  him.  The  captain  thought  I  hesitated,  and 
he  thundered  out: 

"Answer  me,  child.'' 

I  thought  of  my  two  brave  protectors,  and  answered  fearlessly : 

"I  am  satisfied;  a  sister  could  not  have  been  better  cared  for." 

"That  is  well,  I  am  glad  to  hear  it,"  said  the  captain.     Looking  at 

Mr   R and  Mr.  C ,  "It  is  well  for  you  that  it  is  so;  had  it 

been  otherwise,  it  would  not  have  been  well  for  you." 

Captain  Sturt  lost  his  way  the  day  before,  and  did  not  meet  the 
others  at  the  rendezvous  appointed,  and  he  had  met  with  a  frightful 
accident.  His  horse  threw  him  against  a  tree  with  great  violence,  he 
was  stunned,  and  his  face  cut  and  bruised  in  a  dreadful  way.  His 
head  was  bandaged,  both  eyes  were  black  and  swollen;  he  did  not 
look  himself  at  all.  His  rough  salutation  was  so  sudden  that  I  had 
had  no  time  to  remark  on  his  appearance  or  Isaac's  misfortune,  or  how 
I  had  been  resuscitated  to  life,  such  as  it  was.  Captain  Sturt  laughed 
incredulously  when  I  told  him  that  I  put  Isaac's  eyeball  into  its  socket. 

"If  I  had  done  that,  the  sight  would  be  gone,"  he  said. 

"It  is  so  then,  for  assuredly  I  put  it  in,"  I  said. 

He  affected  not  to  believe  that  Isaac  was  so  much  injured. 

He  said  the  ladies  and  himself  had  a  terrible  day,  but  toward  night 
they  had  met  an  overland  party,  who  had  plenty  of  provisions,  and 
who  had  given  up  a  tent  for  the  use  of  the  ladies,  so  they  were  as  well 
as  they  could  be  under  the  circumstances. 

"But  they  were  so  anxious  about  you  that  I  borrowed  the  over- 
lander's  black  boy  to  track  you  and  find  you  dead  or  alive,  dead  we 
expected.  We  sent  Bob  back  on  our  own  tracks  to  where  you  left 
them,  and  made  a  pretty  fair  calculation  where  to  find  you.  We 
■crossed  the  country  seven  miles." 

The  bullocks  were  found,  and  I  was  lifted  to  my  seat  on  the  wagon. 


AN  EXPLORING  EXPEDITION.  165 

I  was  able  to  sit.  The  captain  asked  how  I  came  to  be  so  much  bet- 
ter, had  I  had  any  food  ?  I  said  I  had  not  eaten  anything,  but  that  I 
drank  a  pannikin  nearly  full  of  porter. 

"You  little  goose,  that  is  impossible  in  your  weakened,  starving 
state;  that  much  porter  would  have  killed  you." 

"But,"  I  said,  "it  did  not  kill  me,  for  I  am  living  and  better  than  I 
was  yesterday." 

"You  are  a  most  extraordinary  girl.  You  are  imagining  all  sorts  of 
things  this  morning,  but  we  will  soon  be  where  you  can  get  food,  poor 
child.     You  have  had  a  hard  time." 

The  captain  thought  my  mind  was  wandering,  but  it  was  not. 

After  seven  miles'  travel  I  saw  a  large  tent,  out  of  which  ran  Julia, 
and  she  was  ready  as  soon  as  I  alighted  to  throw  her  arms  round  me 
and  kiss  me,  and  we  both  cried. 

"Oh,  Eliza,  I  though  you  were  dead!  I  am  so  glad  you  are  alive! 
Where  have  you  been?  I  have  not  seen  Pa  yet.  We  were  all  lost, 
and  we  were  all  so  anxious  about  you;   I  am  so  glad  to  see  you." 

She  certainly  seemed  glad  to  see  me,  but  I  could  not  stand  long  on 
my  feet,  so  was  taken  into  the  tent.     I  was  asked  what  I  would  have  ? 

"Fresh  water,"  was  my  answer. 

Water  was  given  to  me,  but  it  was  brackish,  and  I  could  not  drink 
it.  They  gave  me  tea  made  of  it,  but  it  made  me  sick  to  drink  it.  I 
tried  to  eat  a  piece  of  half-cooked  kangaroo,  but  I  lacked  strength  to 
tear  it  with  my  teeth.  I  did  not  feel  the  pangs  of  hunger  half  as  much 
now  as  I  did  three  days  before.  Water  was  my  great  need.  The 
captain  laughingly  told  his  wife  that  I  imagined  that  I  had  drunk  a 
pint  of  porter  yesterday. 

"Impossible!"  cried  both  ladies  at  once. 

"W^ell,  I  know  I  drank  a  pint  pannikin  nearly  full,  and  I  am  better 
now  than  I  was  before  I  drank  it." 

Isaac  came  in  view  with  his  head  tied  up.  I  was  asked  what  had 
happened  to  him?  I  told  them  the  circumstances,  with  the  addition, 
that  Isaac  would  never  recover  the  sight  of  the  eye.  At  this  the  cap- 
tain gave  me  a  very  sharp  rebuke.  I  was  silenced  for  the  time ;  but 
poor  Isaac  was  a  disfigured  man,  and  blind  of  that  eye  all  his  days, 
which  were  not  many  after  that. 

Since  we  left  the  Murray  the  thermometer  had  stood  from  149°  to 
152°.  We  entered  upon  a  hilly  country.  We  crossed  a  ridge  or 
range  of  hills  very  singular  in  appearance,  being  formed  of  great  slabs, 
piled  one  on  top  of  another.     High  mountains  were  seen  in  the  dis- 


1 66  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

tance.  The  equestrians  as  usual  led  the  van,  and  took  a  wider  range 
than  our  party;  they  were  looking  for  the  governor.  We  espied  a 
tent;  we  were  crossing  the  trail  of  an  advance  party  of  overlanders 
from  New  South  Wales.  We  found  this  tent,  and  the  one  Captain  and 
Mrs.  Sturt  occupied  the  night  before,  belonged  to  the  same  party.  I 
was  asked  to  alight  and  rest  under  the  shade  of  a  tent  for  a  while. 
This  I  did,  hoping  to  get  some  water.  It  was  a  vain  hope.  I  saw  a 
gentleman's  shaving-glass  hanging  against  the  tent-pole.  I  had  not 
seen  my  face  for  a  week,  as  our  glasses  were  all  broken.  My  curiosity 
was  so  great  to  see  how  I  looked,  that  I  reached  up  for  the  glass  and 
brought  it  to  the  level  of  my  face.  Whether  from  weakness  or  fright 
at  my  own  gipsy-like  appearance,  I  will  not  say,  the  glass  fell  from  my 
hands  at  my  feet  in  a  thousand  pieces.  In  the  glass  I  did  not  recog- 
nize myself  I  was  so  brown.  My  hair  hanging  in  tangled  strings ;  I 
had  neither  combs  nor  hair-pins.  My  bonnet  was  dangling  over  my  face 
in  strips  of  chip,  and  I  had  no  needles  or  thread  to  mend  it.  My 
clothes  were  very  untidily  put  on,  for  I  had  no  pins  to  keep  them  in 
place;  they  were  tied  on  the  best  way  they  could  be.  I  was  never 
pretty,  so  my  mother  had  always  said,  so  I  do  not  think  vanity 
prompted  me  to  look  at  myself.  But  that  very  day  one  of  my  new- 
made  friends,  my  handsome  young  countryman,  told  me,  of  all  the 
girls  he  ever  saw,  he  admired  me  the  most,  yea,  that  he  loved  me 
more  than  he  could  tell,  and  above  all  things  he  would  like  to  have 
me  for  a  wife.  All  this  from  him  was  quite  unexpected.  I  wished  to 
see  what  had  attracted  him  so  suddenly,  for  till  we  left  the  river  we 
had  never  spoken  a  pleasant  word  to  each  other.  I  was  shocked  at 
my  own  appearance,  so  I  could  testify  that  no  outward  attraction 
prompted  the  proposal.  I  could  not  replace  the  glass  in  the  desert, 
but  I  promised  to  replace  it  when  I  reached  Adelaide,  if  ever  I  reached 
that  city.  We  journeyed  on  long  after  sundown.  We  had  the  light  of 
the  moon  to  travel  by,  and  the  parties  were  to  rendezvous  at  Gawlor,  a 
town  thirty  miles  from  Adelaide,  if  possible,  that  night.  When  our 
party  reached  the  camping-place,  we  found  all  the  parties,  not  one  of 
which  had  not  lost  his  way  and  suffered  considerably.  I  was  weak 
and  weary,  and  lay  down  on  the  ground.  Captain  Sturt  came  to  me 
with  a  little  milk  and  water,  and  gave  me  a  few  sips  from  a  teaspoon, 
I  told  him  I  wanted  a  big  drink,  for  a  large  stream  of  water  ran  by, 
not  far  from  the  camp,  but  he  said  I  must  only  sip  a  litde  at  a  time. 
He  had  to  watch  me,  or  I  should  have  drunk  too  much,  at  least  would 
have  drunk  till  satisfied.     Our  tents  were  struck  before  the  sun  rose 


AN   EXPLORING    EXPEDITION.  1 67 

or  jnounted  the  hills  we  had  crossed.  We  had  now  a  level  plain  of 
thirty  miles  to  cross.  This  plain  is  bounded  on  the  east  by  a  range 
of  hills,  and  on  the  west  by  the  Gulf  of  St.  Vincent.  Fresh  horses 
were  obtained  at  Gawlor  town,  and  the  equestrians  rode  off,  my  party 
bringing  up  the  rear.  I  had  not  strength  to  ride  horseback,  so  I  took 
my  old  place  on  the  wagon.  The  bullock  dray  on  which  Isaac  rode 
broke  down,  and  I  was  asked  to  let  him  ride  in  the  wagon  with  me, 
which  I  did.  We  traveled  to  within  a  mile  of  Adelaide,  when  the 
wheel  of  the  right  side  of  the  wagon  broke  all  to  pieces,  and  we  had 
a  let-down,  and  the  horses  began  to  prance  and  showed  signs  of  fear; 
so  I  was  lifted  to  the  ground  in  a  hurry  by  the  strong  arms  of  Mr. 

R ,  while  Mr.  C took  hold  of  the  horses.     Thanks  to  a  kind 

heavenly  Father  we  were  nearly  home  when  this  last  accident  befell 
us;  but  short  as  was  the  distance,  how  were  we  to  travel  it?  I  was 
weak  and  could  not  walk  without  support.  Isaac  was  blind  and  could 
not  see,  so  I  took  his  arm  and  said : 

"If  you  will  support  me,  I  shall  lead  you  into  town." 

And  so  we  walk  away,  the  weak  leading  the  blind.  The  sun  had 
been  down  some  time,  the  moon  had  not  yet  risen,  but  our  paths  was 
lit  up  by  the  city  lights.  ^Miat  a  contrast  was  our  return  to  our  start- 
ing out  five  or  six  weeks  before.  Then  a  brighter,  happier  party  could 
not  be  found  than  we  were;  now  we  were  broken  down,  wayworn, 
and  minus  one  of  the  brightest  young  men  of  the  party.  The  heads 
of  departments  say  that  much  good  to  the  colony  will  result  from  this 
exploration.     Time  will  tell. 

As  soon  as  we  reached  Government  House,  Isaac  was  taken  charge 
of  by  those  of  his  own  department.  Mrs.  Gawlor,  who  was  expect- 
ing me,  and  had  been  waiting  for  me,  wished  me  to  stay  at  Govern- 
ment House  all  night,  as  there  was  no  carriage  or  driver  who  could 
take  me  home;  but  I  asked  for  water  and  permission  to  walk  home. 
I  had  a  superb  draught  of  fresh  water.  Oh,  it  was  grand,  and  I  felt 
strong  to  walk  another  mile.  I  said  good-night,  and  started  toward 
home.  Never  in  all  my  life  had  I  enjoyed  a  draught  of  fresh  water, 
or  did  I  know  its  value,  as  I  did  that  night.  I  had  no  appetite  for 
eating,  but  no  hart  ever  panted  for  water  more  than  I  did.  I  won- 
dered if  ever  I  could  have  enough  of  the  limpid  liquid  to  drink. 

That  last  mile  that  I  had  to  walk  was  long  and  dreary.  I  passed 
here  and  there  a  house;  here  and  there  a  store  or  shop;  here  and  there 
an  open  space.  It  was  Saturday  night,  and  I  passed  a  shop  where  men 
were  busy  atVork.     I  was  utterly  exhausted,  and  I  leaned  up  against 


1 68  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

the  side  of  the  door,  and  asked  for  a  drink  of  water,  which  the  master 
of  the  estabhshment  politely  gave  me.  I  knew  him,  but  he  did  not 
recognize  me.  My  brown  face  and  brown,  gloveless  hands,  my  torn 
bonnet  hanging  dangling  over  a  mass  of  tangled  hair,  a  little  black 
Thibet  shawl  crossed  on  my  breast  and  tied  behind,  to  hide  my  ragged 
dress,  which  was  literally  torn  off  my  back.  My  boots  were  tied  round 
my  feet,  to  keep  soles  and  uppers  together.  My  feet  were  cut  and 
bleeding.  I  was  unable  to  move  from  the  sidd  of  the  door,  lest  I  should 
fall.  I  was  not  able  to  proceed,  and  I  had  the  fourth  of  a  mile  to  walk 
yet.  The  gentleman  who  had  given  me  the  water  noticed  that  I  still 
stood,  and  he  asked  me  if  he  could  do  any  more  for  me.  I  asked  if  he 
did  not  know  me.     He  just  then  recognized  my  voice. 

"  Oh,  come  in,  and  sit  down,"  and  here  followed  apologies  for  not 
knowing  me  sooner. 

"Take  me  home,  please,"  I  said;  "I  am  so  faint  and  weary  I  can 
not  walk  alone." 

He  gave  me  his  arm  at  once,  and  supported  me  home.  I  told  where 
we  had  been.  When  I  reached  home,  I  went  into  Mrs.  and  Captain 
Sturt's  bedroom,  where  they  lay  enveloped  in  everythmg  pure  and 
clean  and  white.  They  laughed  heartily  at  my  gipsy-like  appearance. 
They  told  me  that  I  should  find  everything  in  my  room  that  would 
make  me  comfortable,  and  to  hasten  thither.  My  room  and  bed  looked 
very  inviting;  but,  oh,  the  pitcher  and  bath-tub  full  of  fresh  water  de- 
lighted me.  I  drank  till  I  was  satisfied,  then  had  a  refreshing  bath, 
ate  a  few  mouthfuls  of  a  dainty  supper,  and  returned  thanks  to  God 
for  all  his  mercies,  not  the  least  of  which  were  bread  and  water.  ' '  Thy 
bread  shall  be  given,  and  thy  water  shall  be  sure."  Here  and  now 
I  realized  the  fulfillment  of  the  promise,  that  came  to  me  like  an  in- 
spiration, when  I  was  laid  down  in  the  desert  to  die  for  both.  There 
was  neither  bread  sent  down  from  heaven,  nor  water  given  from  a 
smitten  rock;  but  we  were  led  the  right  way  to  the  city  of  our  habita- 
tion. My  heart  was  full  of  gratitude.  "  It  is  a  good  thing  to  give 
thanks  to  God."  I  laid  me  down,  and  slept  soundly  and  well,  and 
rose  late,  perfectly  refreshed,  but  brown  as  a  berry.  I  dressed  for 
church,  to  the  great  astonishment  of  Captain,  Mrs.  Sturt  and  myself. 
"The  effectual  fervent  prayer  of  a  righteous  man  availeth  much." 
Several  righteous  men  had  been  praying  for  me,  that  I  might  return  in 
safety.  In  answer  to  their  prayers,  I  presented  myself  at  church.  My 
return  was  hailed  with  joy. 

So  ended  this  exploring  expedition.  It  was  a  chapter  of  accidents 
and  adventures  from  beginning  to  end. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

SAD  EXPERIENCE  OF  WEDDED  LIFE. 

Who  can  estimate  the  perils  of  youthful  maidenhood?  With  a  heart 
brimful  of  love  to  God  and  all  created  things,  animate  and  inanimate, 
looking  up  to  man  as  the  grandest  of  created  beings,  I  was  enthusias- 
tically confiding,  and  of  a  happy  disposition.  I  was  driven  out  to  bat- 
tle ^vith  a  cold  and  treacherous  world;  and,  though  my  pathway  lay 
not  in  the  fierceness  of  public  temptation,  at  least,  it  was  the  path  of 
solitary  and  secret  struggles.  Oh,  with  what  bitterness  of  spirit  was 
my  pride  and  modesty  pressed  back  unspoken  into  my  inexperienced 
and  enduring  heart,  when  the  libertine  addresses  were  spoken  sofdy, 

tenderly  in  my  unwilling  ear,  by  E n  S 1.     We  were  walking 

toward  home,  through  a  natural  avenue  of  forest  trees  in  the  center  of 
the  city,  when  he  dared  to  whisper  words  which  cut  like  a  dirk.  I 
was  mute  from  surprise,  fear,  wounded  pride,  and  insulted  modesty. 
I  looked  straight  toward  home;  then  darted  from  his  side  like  an  arrow 
from  a  bow,  and  made  for  home  with  the  fleetness  of  a  hunted  deer. 
My  nature  shrank  from  the  very  idea  of  any  one  daring  to  think  a  dis- 
honorable thought,  or  speak  a  dishonorable  word  to  me.  I  thought 
the  sacred  name  of  orphan  would  be  a  protection.  I  was  made  to  feel 
that  the  wiles  of  the  wicked  tempter  had  no  regard  to  the  sacred  name. 
I  greatly  feared  this  soft-toned,  smooth-faced  young  gentleman  ever 
after.  When  he  came  to  the  house,  I  fled  from  his  presence,  as  if  he 
had  been  a  serpent.  I  was  ashamed  to  tell  Captain  Sturt  of  his  younger 
brother's  insulting  language  to  me:  had  I  done  so,  a  severe  reproof  at 
least  would  have  been  administered  to  the  audacious  offender.  Had 
I  told  Mrs.  Sturt,  she  would  have  been  slow  to  believe  that  her  darling 
could  do  wrong.  So  I  had  to  keep  silence,  and  nurse  my  wounded 
feelings.  "The  Lord,  to  whom  I  looked,  was  my  shield  and  protector. 
He  made  me  to  dwell  in  safety."  E n  S 1  took  sick,  or  pre- 
tended to  be  sick,  at  our  house.  (He  lived  at  a  hotel  while  in  the 
colony.)  His  sister  was  most  attentive  to  him,  setting  me  an  example, 
for  she  wished  me  to  nurse  him  well  also;  but  this  I  resolved  I  should 
not  do.     She  gave  me  something  to  carry  to  him  once,  but  I  did  not 

(169) 


1 7©  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

take  it  to  him;  I  sent  it.  I  was  again  sent  to  his  room.  This  time  I 
told  Mrs.  Sturt  that  I  had  not  been,  nor  did  I  intend,  to  wait  on  Mr. 

S .     She  demanded  a  reason;    I  gave  her  none.     This  was  put 

down  to  the  score  of  rank  disobedience.    Captain  S was  informed 

of  my  willful  conduct,  and  he  asked  me : 

* '  Eliza,  why  do  you  not  put  your  best  foot  foremost  to  oblige  Evy, 
as  you  used  to  do?" 

With  illy  suppressed  tears  in  my  eyes,  I  said:  "I  do  not  wish  to  do 
anything  for  him  at  all." 

"Well,"  said  the  kind  captain,  "You  shall  do  nothing  for  him,  if 
you  do  not  wish  to  do  it." 

Thus  I  was  released  from  a  disagreeable  position,  but  I  had  much 
to  endure  from  Mrs.  Sturt' s  harsh  temper.  I  bowed  my  neck  to  the 
yoke,  and  struggled  on. 

The  / P arrived,  and  the  master  brought  my  trunks;  and 

so  careful  of  them  was  he,  that  he  brought  them  in  his  own  cabin,  for 
which  courtesy  Mrs.  Sturt  told  him  he  had  taken  too  much  trouble. 

Said  Captain (captain  by  way  of  courtesy) :  Oh,  no;  not  too 

much  trouble,  madam,  I  should  like  to  take  more  on  myself;  and,  if 
you  do  not  object,  I  shall  carry  the  trunks,  with  their  owner,  back  to 
Sydney  with  me.  I  should  like  to  have  Eliza  for  a  wife,  and,  if  you 
will  allow,  I  shall  address  her."  v 

Mrs.  Sturt  was  quite  taken  aback  by  this  speech  and  proposal,  and 
before  Captain  Sturt  could  say  one  word,  she  said  she  positively  ob- 
jected to  Captain addressing  me  at  present.    She  said  I  was  too 

young,  too  thoughtless,  and  the  fact  was,  she  could  not  spare  me  then. 

"Well,  I  shall  wait  till  my  next  voyage  is  over,  then  I  will  ask  her 
to  be  my  mate,"  said  Captain . 

He  left  the  colony,  and  though  he  did  not  address  me,  I  thought  he 
had  a  preference  for  me.  But  this  was  to  me  only  a  proof  of  kindness 
and  friendship,  and,  as  a  friend,  I  esteemed  him.  Weeks,  months 
passed,  / P was  again  expected.  Mrs.  Sturt  told  me  Cap- 
tain   was  going  to  be  married  to  a  lady  in  Sydney.     I  said,  I 

wished  him  all  happiness,  I  thought  he  deserved  to  be  happy.  He  re- 
turned to  the  colony  unmarried,  to  claim  me  from  my  guardians,  and 
he  was  told  that  on  the  morrow  I  was  to  be  led  to  the  altar  by  another. 
I  shall  not  describe  what  followed  this  announcement.  When  Cap- 
tain   left,  I  heard  Captain  Sturt  chide  his  wife  more  severely 

than  I  ever  heard  before.     He  said: 


SAD  EXPERIENCE  OF  WEDDED  LIFE.  171 

''Why  did  you  not  allow  Captain to  address  Eliza?    You 

know  how  he  loved  her,  and  the  match  was  eligible." 

"I  care  not  for  the  eligibility  of  the  thing,"  said  his  excited  wife, 
"I  had  determined  that  they  should  not  marry." 

"What,"  said  Captain  Sturt,  "if  Eliza  loves  him,  as  we  know  he 
loves  her?     You  make  two  persons  unhappy  by  your  intriguing." 

"I  tell  you,  Charles,  I  had  determined  that  they  should  not  marry, 
and  I  care  not  whether  they  be  happy  or  not,"  said  his  angry  wife. 

Then  for  the  first  time  I  knew  the  petty  perfidy  that  had  been  prac- 
ticed on  me.  I  had  no  desire  to  alter  matters  now.  But  had  this 
woman  been  like  her  husband,  and,  without  intrigue,  let  matters  take 
their  natural  course,  it  might  have  been  better  for  me,  God  knows. 
As  it  was,  I  never  had  a  preference  for  anyone.  I  was  so  circum- 
vented by  Mrs.  Sturt  that  I  could  not  but  accept  Mr.  Davies,  though 
I  had  refused  him  on  the  night  of  my  arrival  from  the  Murray,  when 
he  walked  home  with  me.  He  was  Mrs.  Sturt' s  choice  for  me,  and  if 
I  did  not  love  him  with  all  my  heart,  I  certainly  loved  no  one  else. 
Mrs.  Sturt  had  told  me  that  I  loved  and  wished  to  marry  some  one 
else.  I  told  her  there  was  no  truth  in  this  assertion,  and  she  knew 
that  I  did  not  wish  to  marry  anyone  at  all,  but  she  persisted  in  her 
unjust  assertions.     I  said  to  her : 

"How  can  I  prove  to  you  how  unjust  you  are?" 

"By  marrying  the  first  man  who  asks  you,"  she  answered. 

"Oh,"  I  said,  "that  will  be  doing  the  very  thing  I  do  not  wish  to 
do." 

"So  you  can  not  prove  it  by  this.     Ha!  ha!" 

Her  taunting  manner  I  could  not  brook,  and  my  inexperienced 
youth  was  no  match  for  her  intriguing  French  ways.  I  told  her  I 
could  prove  to  her  that  she  was  wrong,  and  I  would  by  doing  as  she 
wished,  though  I  did  not  wish  it  myself.  That  day  she  sent  for  Mr. 
Davies  on  business,  then  he  called  for  me  and  asked  me  to  be  his 
wife.  I  was  so  astonished  at  this  that  I  could  give  him  no  answer  at 
the  time,  though  he  was  very  urgent.  He  gave  me  one  day  to  think 
of  it;  any  respite  was  a  relief.     I  told  Mrs.  Sturt. 

"You  will  marry  him  of  course,"  she  said. 

"I  refused  him  once,  and  I  do  not  like  to  accept  him  now;  I  have 
not  changed  my  mind  concerning  him,"  said  I. 

"Then  you  must  marry  him,  you  said  you  would  marry  the  first 
who  asked  you,  and  he  is  in  every  way  suitable  for  you;  he  is  at  the 
head  of  a  flourishing  business,  has  money  and  property,  and  though 


172  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

young,  he  is  older  than  yourself,  he  is  nearly*twenty-one  years  of  age." 

I  was  completely  entangled  in  her  net.  I  told  her  I  had  nothing 
against  her  favorite,  only  I  disliked  the  idea  of  marrying  a  man  I  had 
so  positively  refused.     She  laughed  at  this. 

It  had  been  written :  "Be  not  unequally  yoked  with  unbelievers." 
I  did  not  know  whether  Mr.  Davies  was  an  unbeliever;  if  he  was,  I 
would  refuse  him  again,  even  in  the  face  of  taunts  and  jeers.  Mr. 
D satisfied  me  that  he  was  not  only  a  believer,  but  a  good  Meth- 
odist. I  told  him  I  did  not  think  I  could  go  to  the  Methodist  Church 
with  him.  He  said  that  made  no  difference,  for  he  intended  to  go 
with  me,  as  he  had  a  great  respect  for  the  Baptists,  and  that  nothing 
should  ever  be  put  in  the  way  to*prevent  me  discharging  my  church 
duties.     These  preliminaries  settled,  I  consented  to  be  his  wife. 

"When?"  I  was  asked. 

I  had  consented  to  marry,  and  I  was  indifferent  as  to  the  time.  In 
three  weeks  my  fate  was  sealed.  I  little  thought  of  rushing  into 
matrimony  when  Mrs.  Sturt  forced  me  into  saying  I  would  marry  the 
first  who  asked  me.  She  had  determined  that  I  should  marry  Mr. 
D .  I  was  pressed  down  and  hedged  in  so  that  escape  or  re- 
treat was  impossible,  even  if  desired.  I  went  through  the  pro- 
cess of  preparing  for  the  important  event  as  one  in  a  dream.  Though 
I  was  one  of  the  chief  actors  in  the  drama,  I  did  not  know  my  part. 
On  the  last  night  of  my  stay  at  Captain  Sturt' s  house,  I  retired  early 
and  took  a  retrospective  view  of  my  whole  life  while  under  its  shelter. 
The  captain  had  been  uniformly  kind  and  considerate;  had  taken  a 
fatherly  interest  in  me  and  care  of  me.  He  never  knew  why  I  shunned 
his  brother,  otherwise  a  severe  reproof  would  have  been  administered. 
Mrs.  Sturt  had  not  always  been  kind  or  even  just,  but  I  was  going  to 
leave  her,  and  I  forgave  her  all ;  I  was  going  to  the  shelter  of  another 
house,  which  would  be  my  own.  This  seemed  so  strange  to  me,  and 
still  more  strange,  the  idea  that  I  was  to  be  married  and  have  a  strong 
arm  to  lean  on  for  support  and  protection  evermore.  Was  this  all? 
No ;  I  had  a  part  to  perform,  and  I  was  totally  ignorant  of  that  part. 
The  duties  of  a  new  life  were  thrust  upon  me,  and  I  was  totally  igno- 
rant of  their  import.  In  my  ignorance  and  helplessness,  I  kneeled 
down  to  my  heavenly  Father  and  prayed  to  him  for  help  to  know  my 
duties  and  responsibilities,  and  to  give  me  a  willing  mind  to  perform 
them  faithfully  in  every  particular,  omitting  nothing.  I  longed  for  a 
mother's  breast  to  sob  out  my  difficulties  on;  but  no  mother  was  near 
to  sympathize  in  my  struggles.     I  wept  and  prayed  and  sobbed  myself 


SAD  EXPERIENCE  OF  WEDDED  LIFE.  1 73 

asleep.  My  bridesmaids  dressed  me  for  the  marriage.  I  felt  perfectly 
quiet.  My  fine  dress  did  not  interest  me ;  I  was  thinking  of  the  re- 
sponsibilities of  the  new  relationship  into  which  I  was  about  to  enter. 
I  was  oppressed  with  a  weight  I  could  not  shake  off.  In  wisdom,  the 
Almighty  hides  the  deep  secrets  of  futurity  from  mortal  ken.  Tremb- 
ling like  an  aspen-leaf,  and  tears  blinding  my  eyes,  I  was  lead  pas- 
sively to  the  altar,  where  Rev.  Mr.  Howard,  the  Colonial  Chaplain, 
performed  the  ceremony.  As  I  knelt  at  the  altar,  never  in  my  life 
had  I  sent  up  to  the  throne  of  God  a  more  earnest  heart-prayer  than 
on  that  occasion  for  grace  to  enable  me  to  do  my  duty.  Were  "com- 
ing events  casting  their  shadows  before?"  How  my  heart  would  have 
shrunk  from  saying,  "for  better,  for  worse,"  had  a  knowledge  of  the 
"worse"  fallen  on  it  at  the  time.  The  imposing  ceremony  was  over, 
the  witnesses'  names  recorded,  and  the  whole  party  proceeded  to  the 

Botanical  Gardens.      Mr.  J ,   who  had  charge  of  them,  was  an 

acquaintance  of  Mr.  D 's,  and  conducted  us  over  the  grounds. 

The  party  was  as  merry  as  such  parties  usually  are;  they  gathered 
round  a  litde  sensitive-plant,  and  were  enjoying  a  joke  perpetrated  by 

Mr.  J .     Some  one  called  me  and  asked  me  to  touch  the  plant. 

Another  said : 

"Do  not  touch  it;  it  tells  tales." 

I  touched  it,  and  the  little  thing  trembled  all  over. 

"What  is  the  tale  it  tells?"  I  asked. 

"You  have  kissed  your  sweetheart  within  the  last  twenty-four  hours," 
they  said. 

This  was  all  meant  for  a  little  fun;  but  I  exclaimed: 

"Your  mimosa  is  a  false  tell-tale,  for  I  never  kissed  a  man  in  my 
life." 

I  was  not  able  to  enter  into  the  spirit  of  fun  that  day.  In  the  even- 
ing we  dined  at  Mr.  D 's,   my  future  home.     Wine  circulated 

freely.     I  saw  Mr.  D drink;  at  this  I  was  surprised.     All  seemed 

happy;  I  was  perfectly  quiet.     I  could  not  realize  my  situation.     I 

tried  to  be  cheerful,  but  it  was  a  great  effort.     Looking  at  Mr.  D 

once,  I  said  mentally  : 

"I  hope  he  will  be  kind  to  me,  for  I  intend  to  make  him  such  a 
good  wife." 

Just  then  our  eyes  met,  and  oh!  what  a  demon  lurked  in  his  eye;  it 
made  me  shudder  with  a  strange  foreljoding.  I  shuddered  visibly;  a 
mountain  weight  of  sadness  lay  on  my  heart.    Mr.  J tried  to  rally 


174  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

me  on  my  sober  looks.  I  wondered  at  him  doing  so,  for  I  had  heard 
him  whisper  to  his  wife  : 

"That  girl  has  not  much  chance  for  happiness." 

I  was  perplexed;  terror  took  hold  of  me.     I  knew  not  whether  it 

was  ignorance  of  my  duties  or  fear  of  Mr.  D that  troubled  me, 

or  both  combined.     But  my  situation  was  not  an  enviable  one. 

Days  passed.     I  began  to  feel  a  true  and  sincere  affection  for  Mr. 

D ,  without  any  powerful  passion.     I  went  to  my  Bible  daily  for 

instructions.  Paul,  in  writing  to  the  Ephesians,  says:  "Wives,  sub- 
mit yourselves  to  your  own  husbands,"  etc.  I  resolved  that  nothing 
on  my  part  should  be  wanting  to  make  our  home  happy.  I  took  the 
Bible,  with  my  newly  found  instructions,  to  show  him  what  they  were, 
and  that  I  intended  to  follow  the  Divine  instructions  to  the  letter.  I 
said  somewhat  timidly : 

"Mr.  D ,  here  are  instructions  for  you  also." 

He  closed  the  book  rather  abruptly. 

Mr.  D had  three  friends:    Mr.  E ,  an  Irish  Barrister,  tall 

and  handsome,  with  an  insinuating  address ;  Mr.  S ,  a  hardy  Scot, 

who  was  at  the  head  of  a  large  bakery,  and  whose  sister  sold  the  fancy 
bread  in  a  shop  fitted  up  for  that  purpose,  and  Mr.  L ,  an  English- 
man, who  was  a  squatter.  These  four  young  men  had  left  their  native 
land  with  plenty  of  money,  which  they  invested  in  colonial  property 
with  various  results.  They  were  often  entertained  at  our  house.  They 
were  exceeding  polite  to  me,  but  I  did  not  like  to  see  them  drink  so 

much  at  the  table.     I  told  Mr.  D that  I  did  not  like  to  see  him 

drink  so  much,  if  the  others  did.  He  gave  me  one  of  those  strange 
looks,  which  made  me  shrink  from  him;  he  then  caught  me  by  the 
arm  with  a  grip  like  a  vise,  and  with  a  fascinating  smile,  asked  me 
what  had  frightened  me. 

"That  strange  look  you  gave  me,"  I  answered.  "Please  let  go  my 
arm,  you  hurt  it  so." 

Instead  of  which,  he  pinched  me  more  tightly,  till  the  pain  brought 
tears  to  my  eyes,  then  he  kissed  me,  and  bowed  himself,  all  smiles, 
out  of  the  room.  This  he  did  often.  My  arms  were  sadly  discolored 
by  these  dreadful  grips.  I  was  sorely  puzzled  to  know  what  this  all 
meant.     I  wondered  and  pondered,  but  could  not  solve  the  riddle. 

The  Queen's  birthday  came  just  five  weeks  after  our  wedding.  On 
this  day  the  aborigines,  whose  lands  were  being  occupied  by  the 
white  man,  were  assembled  on  the  Government  House  grounds,  to 
receive  each  a  blanket  to  cover  them  when  they  came  within  the 


SAD  EXPERIENCE  OF  WEDDED  LIFE.  1 75 

white  man's  domain.  It  was  amusing  to  see  some  of  the  Lubras  when 
they  would  have  a  dress  given  to  themj  they  did  not  know  how  to  put 
it  on.  The  women  would  push  their  feet  through  the  sleeves  and 
gather  the  bottom  of  their  skirt  round  their  neck,  and  the  men  would 

hang  the  pants  round  their  shoulders.     Mr.  D took  me  to  see  the 

Blacks  feed,  as  he  termed  the  feast  which  was  spread  out  on  the  grounds 
for  them  from  the  Government  stores.  We  were  sauntering  along  on 
the  terrace,  I  wondering  whether  these  savages  were  better  or  worse 
than  those  of  the  desert,  when  an  elegantly  dressed  young  gentleman 
accosted  me : 

"How  do  you  do.  Miss  Eliza." 

For  a  moment  I  did  not  know  who  spoke  to  me;  but  I  soon  recog- 
nized one  of  my  fellow-voyagers  of  the  Murray  party.  He  was  so  glad 
to  see  me  he  said;  I  shook  hands  with  him,  and  was  as  glad  to  see 

him.    I  introduced  him  to  Mr.  D .    As  I  looked  up  to  Mr.  D 's 

face,  I  saw  the  lurking  demon  in  his  eye;  but  immediately  his  face 
was  wreathed  in  smiles,  and  his  manner  charming.  I  trembled  as  he 
aflfectionately  drew  my  arm  within  his,  with  a  pinch  that  made  me  nearly 

scream.    I  was  glad  when  Mr.  B bowed  good-bye.    We  walked  on  in 

silence  for  a  short  time,  when  Mr.  D met  one  of  his  friends,  and 

invited  him  home  to  dine  with  us.  Every  affectionate  epithet  was 
showered  on  me  on  my  way  home,  and  he  was  attentive  to  me  at  home. 

Mr.  L remarked  that  I  was  very  quiet.     I  said  I  was  rather  tired 

with  my  long  walk.     Mr.  D said,  "as  my  little  wife  is  tired,  let  us 

take  a  walk."    I  begged  them  not  to  go  out  on  my  account.     I  wished 

Mr.  D to  stay  at  home  with  me;  I  had  a  strange  feeling  of  unrest. 

My  little  maid  had  gone  home  to  see  her  mother,  and  I  was  entirely 
alone.     I  did  not  think  I  was  afraid,  but  I  could  not  account  for  the 

strange  sensations  I  felt.     It  was  very  late  when  Mr.  D returned. 

I  was  sitting  in  my  room  reading  my  Bible,  when  I  heard  a  soft  footfall 

coming  toward  my  room.     How  thoughtful  of  Mr.  D to  take  off 

his  heavy  Wellington  boots;  he  thinks  I  sleep,  and  he  does  not  wish 
to'disturb  me,  I  said  mentally.  I  rose  with  a  glad  smile  to  meet  him 
as  he  came  into  the  room,  boots  in  hand,  and  the  demon  dancing  in 
his  eyes.  He,  with  a  strong,  outstretched  arm,  pushed  me  back  to 
my  seat,  and  without  one  word  spoken,  or  warning  given,  he  struck 
me  several  heavy  blows  on  the  head  with  his  hea\'y-heeled  boot.  I 
thought  my  brains  were  being  knocked  out.  I  gave  one  cry  for  mercy 
from  the  infuriated  man,  but  he  had  none.  I  cried  to  God  to  save  me. 
The  boot  that  battered  my  head  to  jelly  almost  was  caught  in  the  window 


1 70  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

curtain,  as  it  was  raised  with  a  fearful  oath  to  give  the  finishing  stroke. 
The  curtain  was  torn  down,  and  flared  out  the  hght,  and  we  were  in 
total  darkness.  I  sat  with  the  curtain  in  my  mouth  to  smother  my  cries, 
but  these  cries  were  heard  by  one,  who  testified  to  the  fact  long  after. 

Mr.  D threw  himself  on  the  bed  exhausted  with  his  fury.     In  the 

morning,  when  he  rose,  he  found  me  sitting  where  he  left  me,  covered 
with  blood,  my  head  fearfully  cut  and  bruised.  I  sat  all  night  long  in 
great  bodily  pain,  my  head  throbbing  fearfully;  but  my  amazement  was 

still  greater.   My  dread  of  Mr.  D was  agonizing.  What  had  happened 

to  me?  where  could  I  flee  for  safety?  Alas!  alas!  There  I  sat  in  the 
midnight  gloom  with  my  tortured  head  and  heart.  Oh,  mother,  mother, 
if  you  could  only  know  what  I  am  suffering!    O  God,  help  me  to  think 

right,  and  to  do  right.    Just  five  weeks  since,  Mr.  D had  promised, 

at  the  altar  before  God  and  man,  to  love  and  cherish  me  as  his  own 
self,  my  protector,  my  guide.  O  God,  what  have  I  yet  to  suffer?  but 
it  matters  little  now.  "What  next  I  know  not,  do  not  care.  Come 
pain  or  pleasure,  weal  or  woe;  there's  nothing  which  I  can  not  bear, 
since  I  have  borne  the  withering  blow."  I  knew  not  what  to  pray  for. 
"O  God,  if  all  others  forsake  me,  do  not  thou  abandon  me  in  this  unut- 
terable woe."  I  thought,  in  my  terror,  that  if  I  had  a  place  to  flee  to 
for  safety,  that  I  should  never  set  foot  within  that  dwelling  again, 
though  I  had  resolved  to  make  it  a  happy  home,  as  far  as  was  within 
my  power.  But,  alas!  what  could  I  do?  where  could  I  flee?  I  had 
said  before  witnesses,  that  I  would  cleave  only  to  him,  through  good 
and  evil  report.  I  took  him  "for  better  for  worse."  Oh,  the  "worse," 
how  terrible!     Hope  almost  abandoned  me  that  night.     When  Mr. 

D came  to  me,  and  took  the  curtain  off  my  head,  he  started  at  the 

ghastly  sight.  A  great  Wellington  boot,  with  blood  on  it,  and  hair 
lying  near  it,  on  the  floor  at  my  feet;  my  hair  matted  with  blood;  my 
face  and  eyes  blackened  and  swollen,  but  tearless.  He  looked  so 
sorry,  and  asked  me  to  forgive  him  for  his  mad  passion;  he  said  he 
was  sorry  for  what  he  had  done,  and  never  would  be  guilty  of  such 
conduct  again.  I  could  only  forgive  him,  hoping  that  he  was  sincere; 
but  I  could  not  help  thinking  that  he  had  almost  dealt  a  deathblow  to 
my  earthly  happiness.  When  I  recovered,  I  asked  him  why  he  had 
acted  toward  me  so  cruelly.  He  said  he  had  no  reason  for  it  at  all, 
only  he  felt  like  doing  it;  but  he  said  he  did  not  know  that  he  had 
hurt  me  so  badly. 

Miss  Gawlor  called  one  day;    she  had  some  benevolent  work  on 
hand,  and  she  wished  me  to  help  her.     She  gave  me  a  subscription 


SAD  EXPERIENCE  OF  WEDDED  LIFE.  1 77 

paper,  and  asked  me  to  solicit  subscriptions.    I  called  Mr.  D ,  and 

told  him  what  Miss  Gawlor  wished  me  to  do. 

"Oh,  Mr.  Davies,"  said  Miss  Julia,  "I  know  you  will  allow  Eliza 
to  help  me." 

"Certainly,  Miss  Gawlor,  nothing  will  give  me  more  pleasure  than 
to  make  her  go,  if  she  is  not  willing,  for  lately  she  will  not  be  per- 
suaded to  leave  the  house;  she  is  a  dear  lover  of  home,  my  little  pet," 

said  Mr.  D in  his  blandest  tones,  as  he  patted  me  on  the  cheek, 

and  left  the  room. 

His  manner  charmed  and  delighted  Miss  Julia.  She  was  loud  in  his 
praises.  She  said  I  was  the  happiest,  as  well  as  the  most  fortunate,  of 
human  beings  in  having  such  a  husband.  She  hoped  I  would  be  suc- 
cessful, as  Mr.  D had  taken  such  interest  in  her  work.     She  left 

the  house  with  the  idea  that  Mr.  D was  not  only  a  model  hus- 
band, but  a  model  man.  There  was  a  charm  about  his  smile  that  was 
well  calculated  to  fascinate  and  deceive  a  stranger ;  but,  oh,  how  false 
and  hollow!  Tliere  was  no  heart- warmth,  none  of  that  open  manli- 
ness of  character,  which  wins  upon  a  frank  and  confiding  nature. 

Mr.  D came  to  me  as  soon  as  Miss  Julia  was  gone,  and  said,  as 

he  sat  down  on  the  sofa  beside  me : 

"Do  you  think  you  will  go  out  on  this  fool's  errand  of  Miss  Gaw- 
lor's?" 

I  said  very  meekly:  "You  told  Miss  Julia  that  you  would  insist  on 
my  going,  if  I  were  disinclined  to  go,  and  as  it  is  your  wish  that  I  go, 
I  am  perfectly  willing." 

"It  is  my  wish  that  you  do  not  go  out  one  step  to  ask  one  penny 
for  her,"  he  said. 

"But  you  told  her  to  expect  our  help." 

"She  must  go  without  our  help,  and  you  must  bear  the  blame." 

"Oh,  Mr.  D ,  do  not  let  her  think  that  I  could  treat  her  so, 

after  we  promised  to  assist  her." 

He  rose  from  his  seat,  and  said :  "I  care  not  what  she  thinks  of  you, 
you  have  promised  to  obey  me,  and  I  expect  you  to  do  so." 

I  bowed  my  head,  and  said:   "I  will  obey  you." 

A  few  days  after  this,  I  went  to  the  Government  House,  but  Miss 
Gawlor  was  not  at  home.  I  gave  my  paper  to  Mrs.  Gawlor,  telling 
her  I  did  not  collect  any  money;  I  had  only  my  own  subscription  to 
give,  was  sorry,  but  I  could  do  no  more. 

For  a  few  weeks  Mr.  D accompanied  me  to  church,  but  he  quit 

going  with  me,  and  he  did  not  go  to  his  own  church  either.  The 
12 


iy8  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

church  and  prayer-meetings  were  to  me  very  precious  seasons;  there 
I  tried  to  forget  my  sorrows  and  receive  comfort.  He  laughed  at  the 
idea  of  being  missed  at  church.  When  I  told  him  many  kind  inquiries 
were  made  for  him,  he  said : 

"I  am  tired  going  to  church,  and  you  must  give  up  going  too." 

"No,  Mr.  D ,  this  I  may  not  do." 

"You  must  obey  me;  your  Bible  tells  you  so,  and  I  shall  be  obeyed," 
said  the  inconsistent  man. 

"Yes,"  I  said,  "in  all  and  everything  I  shall  obey  you,  when  that 
does  not  conflict  with  my  obedience  to  God.  In  this  matter,  I  must 
obey  God  rather  than  man." 

"Do  you  prefer  God  to  me?"  and  with  fearful  oaths,  he  said  that 
I  must  give  up  going  to  church,  and  stay  at  home,  and  entertain  his 
friends  on  Sunday. 

I  said  I  would  give  up  the  week  meetings,  if  he  would  allow  me  to 
go  to  church  on  Sunday.     This  he  would  not  consent,to. 

Then  I  said:  "In  this  I  must  disobey  you,  for  my  Bible  says:  'Neg- 
lect not  the  assembling  of  yourselves  together,  as  the  manner  of  some  is.' " 

"If  you  go,"  he  said,  "you  may  stay,  for  here  you  shall  not  come 
again." 

I  said,  if  he  would  come  with  me,  he  would  be  far  happier  than  by 
•  staying  away.  He  swore  at  me,  and  I  went  to  church  with  a  heavy 
heart,  and  found,  on  my  return,  that  I  was  locked  out.  I  walked  up  and 
down  for  several  weary  hours  under  a  hot  sun;  I  was  nearly  stifled  by  a 
hot  wind,  and  whirlwinds  of  dust,  but  the  relentless  man  had  no  pity, 
he  kept  the  doors  locked  against  me.  Evening  shades  were  gathering 
round;  I  was  ashamed  to  be  seen  on  the  street  any  longer  on  such  a 
day,  when  every  living  being  sought  the  shelter  of  a  house  as  a  protec- 
tion from  the  blistering  heat.  I  went  away  behind  the  house,  and  sat 
down  on  a  stump  of  a  tree,  utterly  oblivious  to  everything  but  my  great 
sorrow.  I  was  stupefied  with  grief.  I  could  not  pray,  and  I  wondered 
if  God  had  forsaken  me.  I  wondered  what  I  had  done  to  deserve  this 
treatment.  I  wondered  if  my  whole  life  was  to  be  embittered;  if  so, 
"O  God,  let  me  die  soon,"  was  my  bitter  cry. 

Just  then  a  rough  hand  was  laid  on  my  shoulder,  and  I  was  dragged 
unresistingly  to  the  house,  my  bonnet  and  dress  torn  off  me,  and  a  thick 
rope,  knotted  and  twisted,  was  whirled  about  my  head  and  bare  shoul- 
ders till  I  had  no  strength  left  to  stand  up  under  the  blows.  I  fell  back 
on  a  sofa  unconscious,  and  there  lay  till  the  next  day.  Meantime  Mr. 
D went  out  and  locked  me  in,  all  unconscious  as  I  was.     I  was 


SAD  EXPERIENCE  OF  WEDDED  LIFE.  I  79 

very  ill  after  this  day's  treatment.     Mr.  D asked  me  how  I  felt. 

I  told  him  I  felt  ill,  and  I  begged  him  to  tell  me  why  he  abused  me 
so.  He  said  he  had  no  reason  for  it,  but  he  liked  to  do  it,  and  that  it 
was  a  pleasure  he  intended  to  indulge  in.  I  searched  my  heart  to  see 
if  I  had  in  thought  or  word  or  deed  done  aught  to  cause  such  brutal- 
ity being  used  toward  me.  I  was  not  conscious  of  giving  offense  in 
any  way,  only  in  going  to  church  contrary  to  his^  wishes.  I  asked 
him  if  he  were  jealous  of  me  that  he  treated  me  so;  if  so,  he  had  no 
cause. 

"No,  no,  lam  not  jealous;  I  have  no  fear  of  you,"  he  said.  "Do 
you  think,"  said  he  again,  with  such  slow  and  deliberate  accentuation 
of  every  syllable  of  each  word  as  to  make  him  look  like  a  native  fiend, 
"do  you  think  that  if  I  had  cause  for  jealousy  that  you  would  ever 
cross  that  threshold  alive ?     No;  that  you  would  not." 

I  shuddered  and  was  silent. 

It  was  midnight,  and  I  sat  alone  in  my  room,  surrounded  by  every 
bodily  comfort,  with  a  breaking  heart,  and  trembling  with  fear  at  the 

least  noise,  yet  anxious  for  Mr.  D to  come  home.     He  -spent  all 

his  evenings  abroad.  I  was  looking  in  my  Bible,  if  in  anything  I 
had  come  short  in  a  wife's  duties.  In  no  point  had  I  failed;  how 
could  I,  when  I  took  God's  own  word  as  my  daily  guide  in  all  things? 
In  my  duty  to  God  I  might  have  come  short,  but  not  so  to  my  hus- 
band. I  was  the  bride  of  a  few  months,  and  I  had  lived  to  be  per- 
secuted with  the  malice  of  a  fiend  by  one  who  ought  to  have  sheltered 
me  in  his  heart.  Respect  or  deference  for  the  Bible  or  religion  he 
had  none.  He  cursed  his  mother's  memory,  because  he  said  she 
always  took  the  Bible  for  her  guide,  and  as  I  was  like  her  in  this  re- 
spect, he  consigned  us  both  to  a  region  that  shall  be  nameless.  Moses 
said:   "Cursed  be  he  that  setteth  light  by  his  father  or  his  mother."     I 

exceedingly  feared  for  Mr.  D ,  he  was  so  profane,  lest  he  might 

be  cut  down  in  the  midst  of  his  wickedness.  I  heard  him  at  last  come 
staggering  into  the  house.  I  clasped  my  hands  together  in  terror.  I 
looked  up  to  God  and  committed  myself  to  him,  and  quietly  lay  down 
to  wait.     He  bent  over  me  and  asked  if  I  were  asleep. 

"No,  Mr.  D ,"  I  said. 

"Pray;  for  this  night  you  must  die,"  he  said. 

He  left  me  to  go  for  a  knife.  I  heard  him  in  the  knife-box.  I 
did  not  scream,  or  jump  out  of  bed;  of  what  avail  would  it  be?  I 
lay  perfectly  still,  believing  that  my  last  hour  had  come.  I  asked  God 
to  accept  of  my  spirit  through  Christ  my  Savior,  and  to  forgive  my 


l8o  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

murderer.  Every  moment  I  expected  to  feel  the  fatal  thrust.  I  was 
cold  with  terror.  What  torture  I  suffered  till  he  came,  which  was  a 
long  time.  At  last  he  came  and  told  me  that  he  could  not  find  the 
right  knife  till  morning. 

"But  be  sure  I  intend  to  sacrifice  you,  body  and  soul,"  said  the 
wretched  man. 

Next  day  when  he  was  sober,  he  laughed  a  malicious  laugh,  and 
said : 

"I  could  not  find  the  knife  last  night,  but  I  still  purpose  your  death." 

Mr.  E ,  the  lawyer,  Mr.  D 's  boon  companion,  came  to  see 

him,  and  in  his  presence,  harsh,  taunting,  bitter  words  were  spoken  to 
me,  which  drove  the  blood  from  my  face-  and  in  a  jibing  tone  he 
sneered  at  my  prudery.     The  two  men  exchanged  looks  that  I  could 

not  interpret.     Mr.  D left  the  room,  and  Mr.  E ,  in  the  most 

insinuating  way,  said  he  was  so  sorry  to  see  that  his  friend  did  not 
seem  to  appreciate  the  good  wife  that  he  had.  He  said  that  he  sym- 
pathized with  me  very  deeply  and  sincerely.  He  attempted  to  sit  on 
the  sofa  beside  me.  His  words,  his  tone  and  his  manner,  were  all 
very  offensive  to  me.  I  could  not  answer  him,  but  I  rose  and  left 
him  alone.     I  went  and  shut  myself  up  in  my  own  room,  and  did  not 

leave  it  till  Mr.  E left  the  house.     I  was  dreadfully  abused  for  my 

rudeness.     I  begged  Mr.  D not  to  ask  that  man  to  the  house,  or 

at  least  not  to  expect  me  to  entertain  him,  if  he  did.     Mr.  D , 

cruel  man,  said : 

"I  shall  invite  Mr.  E— — ,  and  you  shall  not  only  entertain  him, 
but  you  shall  also  entertain  his  mistress,  whom  I  shall  invite  to  come 
and  see  you." 

"Mistress!"  I  exclaimed.      "Does  Mr.  E keep  a" . 

A  severe  blow  on  the  mouth  stopped  my  utterance.  I  fell  on  my 
knees  to  this  terrible  man,  and  cried: 

"Oh,  do  not  degrade  me  by  bringing  a  bad  woman  to  our  house. 
I  can  not,  will  not,  see  her.  I  am  willing  to  suffer  any  indignity  or 
cruelty  at  your  hand,  but  oh,  do  not  pollute  my  home  by  the  presence 
of  such  people." 

He  had  tried  every  unseen  agency  his  ingenuity  could  invent  to  rob 
me  of  my  good  name,  which  was  more  precious  to  me  than  life ;  and 
now  he  wished  to  give  the  world  a  pretext  for  believing  me  what  he 
represented  me  to  be,  by  making  me  associate  with  an  abandoned 
woman  and  her  paramour,  ' '  No,  I  shall  hold  fellowship  with  no  such 
.people." 


SAD  EXPERIENCE  OF  WEDDED  LIFE.  l8l 

One  Sunday  afternoon  I  was  asked  to  take  a  walk,  a  very  unusual 

thing,  and  I  gave  a  willing  consent  to  go  with  Mr.  D ,  as  I  never 

left  the  house  only  to  go  to  church  on  Sunday  mornings,  and  then  I 
was  forbidden  to  speak  to  any  of  the  members.  None  of  my  friends 
were  allowed  to  visit  me.     I  was  completely  isolated.     We  walked  a 

long  distance.     Mr.  D was  in  a  gleeful  mood.      I  was  tired  with 

my  long  walk,  and  asked  him  to  return  home.  I  had  lost  my  strength 
and  elasticity,  and  leaned  heavily  on  the  arm  that  ought  to  have  been 
my  shield.  He  smiled  pleasantly,  and  said  we  have  not  far  to  go  now. 
I  asked  him  where  he  was  going. 

"There." 

And  he  pointed  to  a  cottage  near  by.    I  asked  him  who  lived  there. 

"Mr.  E ,"  said  he,  "and  we  have  been  invited  to  spend  the 

evening  with  him  and  a  few  friends." 

I  started  affrighted.     Mr.  D said,  in  a  bland,  soft  tone : 

"We  are  seen;  let  us  go  on." 

Never  shall  I  cross  their  threshold.  My  fatigue  left  me,  and  I 
walked  toward  home. 

"Stop,"  cried  Mr.  D ,  "till  I   go   and   apologize  for  you  not 

going  in." 

"No  apology  for  me,  please;  I  shall  walk  home." 

And  I  did,  my  insulted  feelings  bearing  me  up  till  I  reached  home, 
•where  I  sank  down  in  utter  helplessness.  Oh,  how  bitter  were  the 
wrongs,  how  galling  the  spirit  wounds,  I  had  to  suffer,  and  no  respite, 
no  redress.  "My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me,"  often 
burst  from  my  agonized  heart. 

It  was  past  the  hour  of  midnight.  I  was  alone,  and  weary  of  life, 
and  without  hope  of  rest  only  in  the  grave,  when  I  heard  a  noise  out- 
side the  door.  Well  I  knew  what  it  meant,  and  I  opened  the  door 
myself  with  a  trembling  hand.  But  oh,  what  a  ghastly  sight  met  my 
gaze !     A  sight  that  chilled  my  blood. 

"Great  Father !"  I  cried,  "is  he  dead?"  as  two  men  carried  Mr. 

D into  the  house,  covered  with  blood  and  insensible,  and  laid 

him  on  the  floor. 

"No,"  said  the  men,  "he  is  not  dead,  but  he  assaulted  a  gentleman 
at  the  gaming-table,  and  he  defended  himself  with  a  knife,  and  cut 
Mr.  D about  the  head;  hence  the  blood." 

The  men  left  him  to  me.  I  washed  the  blood  from  his  face,  head 
and  neck.  I  dressed  his  wounds  as  best  I  could,  and  bandaged  his 
head,  and  then  sat  down  beside  him,  supporting  his  head  on  my  lap 


1 82  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

till  daylight.  Harrowing  thoughts  chased  each  other  through  my 
brain  on  that  night  of  lonely  vigil.  1  could  not  leave  the  unhappy 
man  to  go  for  a  doctor,  and  I  thought  he  must  die.  I  prayed  to  God 
to  spare  him  to  repent  of  his  great  sins,  and  not  to  cut  him  down  in 
the  midst  of  them.  Through  the  nights  and  days  that  I  nursed  him 
he  seemed  very  penitent.  He  thought  he  was  going  to  die,  and  feared 
to  go.  He  asked  me  how  I  could  bear  all  his  bad  treatment  and  never 
complain  or  retaliate;  how  could  I  so  patiently  nurse  him,  who  so 
often  laid  me  on  a  bed  of  suffering  from  his  brutality  ? 

"My  infallible  guide  tells  me  to  love  my  enemies;  to  bless  them  who 
curse  me ;  to  do  good  to  those  who  hate  me,  and  pray  for  those  who 
despitefuUy  use  me  and  persecute  me;  and  I  am  trying  to  do  just 
what  he  tells  me.    I  have  no  one  else  to  give  me  counsel,"  I  answered : 

"Do  you  think  I  am  your  enemy?"  he  asked. 

"Yes,  I  do,  and  you  persecute  me,  and  say  all  manner  of  evil  of 
me,  and  you  know  you  have  no  cause.  You  curse  me  with  your 
mother,  because,  like  her,  I  take  the  word  of  God  for  my  guide  and 
rule  of  conduct." 

"But,"  said  he,  "with  all  I  do,  you  still  say  you  forgive  me;  how 
can  you?" 

"Because  I  hope  God  will  forgive  me  all  my  shortcomings;  this  I 
could  not  expect  did  I  not  forgive  others." 

'  'I  expect  there  is  something  in  your  religion ;  for  were  I  a  woman, 
and  treated  as  you  are,  and  have  been,  I  should  leave  the ." 

"When  I  married  you,  it  was  for  better  for  worse,  for  richer  for 
poorer,  in  sickness  and  health;  and  none  of  your  bad  treatment  could 
drive  me  from  what  I  thought  was  my  duty,"  I  said. 

"If  I  live  I  shall  be  a  better  man.    Drink  makes  me  mad,"  he  said. 

"Quit  it  then  forever,  and  be  a  man,  not  a  demon,  and  God  help 
you  to  do  right,"  said  I. 

One  whole  month   I  was   comparatively  happy;    Mr.    D for 

that  time  did  not  drink. 

When  I  dressed  in  white  my  toilet  pleased  him.  I  tried  in  all  things 
to  please  him.  One  day  I  put  on  a  white  dress  that  he  admired  very 
much,  and  I  went  to  him  and  asked  him  how  he  liked  me  in  it.  He 
said  gaily,  that  he  could  not  like  me  better.  I  gave  him  a  grateful  look 
for  his  kind  words.  When  our  eyes  met,  oh,  horror!  I  saw  the  demon 
lurking  in  his  looks.  I  left  him  quietly,  but  ere  I  reached  my  room 
door,  a  small  hatchet  was  hurled  at  my  head.  It  struck  and  stuck  in 
the  door,  one  inch  above  my  head.    Mr.  D followed  the  weapon. 


SAD  EXPERIENCE  OF  WEDDED  LIFE.  1 83 

laughing  merrily;  he  encircled  my  head  with  one  arm,  held  it  tight, 
while  with  his  strong  right  hand  he  tore  out  my  hair,  beat  my  combs 
and  hair-pins  into  my  head,  till  my  white  dress  was  crimsoned  over ; 
then  he  thrust  me  with  such  violence  into  my  room,  that  I  fell  senseless 
on  the  floor.  Next  morning  I  had  to  appear  at  the  breakfast-table,  but 
hope  had  again  died  within  me.    I  feared  to  speak,  lest  I  should  offend. 

"O  Christ,  forgive  me,"  burst  from  the  lips  of  Mr.  D ;   "I 

thought  I  had  killed  you  yesterday,  and  if  you  had  spoken,  I  should 
have  killed  you  outright.     Can  you  forgive  me?" 

I  could  not  speak,  but  I  rose  and  put  my  arms  round  his  neck,  and 
kissed  him  my  forgiveness.  Ere  I  reached  my  seat  again,  he,  with  the 
strength  of  a  giant,  gave  me  a  kick  on  the  side,  that  deprived  me  of 
breath,  and  nearly  of  life,  and  I  fell  helpless  to  the  floor. 

Governor  Gawlor  was  about  to  leave  the  colony  with  his  family. 

Mr.  D ,  before  his  last  attack  on  me,  that  prostrated  me  so,  had 

said  that  he  should  like  me  to  invite  a  few  friends  of  my  own  to  dinner, 
as  I  had  never  entertained  any  of  my  own  friends  since  I  was  married. 
I  dared  not  remind  him,  that  with  fearful  oaths  he  had  forbidden  me 
even  to  speak  to  them.  When  any  of  the  church  members  called  to 
see  me,  he  ordered  me  to  disappear,  and  I  had  to  hear  him  tell  them, 
that  I  was  not  attentive  to  my  religious  duties,  as  he  would  like  to  see; 
I  was  too  fond  of  light  company,  and  he  hoped  they  would  take  me  to 
task  for  my  conduct;  he  said,  he  believed  that  if  he  did  not  insist  on 
my  going  to  church  on  Sunday  mornings,  that  I  would  give  that  up  as 
well  as  the  week  meetings;  he  also  said  that  he  believed  that  I  did  not 
care  to  have  the  church  members  visit  me.  Oh,  how  my  pulses  beat, 
and  my  cheeks  burned,  while  I  heard  these  infamous  falsehoods  uttered 
so  deliberately;  but  I  was  utterly  helpless  to  contradict  them,  or  to 
defend  myself.  I  thought,  all  will  be  righted  at  the  judgment  day.  All 
this,  and  much  more,  I  could  have  alleged  as  a  reason  why  I  did  not 
entertain  my  friends,  but  I  did  not.  After  his  last  outbreak  of  ill-humor, 
I  was  unwilling  to  invite  my  friends.  I  greatly  feared  another  out- 
burst; this  he  saw,  and  insisted  that  I  should  have  a  party.  1  allowed 
him  to  order  everything,  and  I  made  preparations.    Amongst  my  guests 

was  Miss  B ,  from  Government  House,  who  had  come  to  the  colony, 

and  was  going  to  leave  with  the  governor's  family.  I  was  abused,  and 
insulted,  and  taunted  in  every  conceivable  way,  till  I  had  no  heart  for 
company,  and  then  I  was  told  to  look  cheerful  and  happy,  and  show 
my  friends  what  a  good  husband  1  had.  1  bore  his  taunting  mockery 
with  a  heavy  heart. 


1 84  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

The  friends  arrived,  dinner  was  served,  and  Mr.  D astonislied 

me  with  his  hilarity.  His  manners  were  perfectly  captivating;  he  was 
all  smiles,  and  gracious  to  all.     I  tried  to  be  cheerful,  but  fear  lay 

heavy  on  my  heart;  I  was  in  mortal  dread  all  the  time.     Miss  B 

was  the  last  to  leave :  she  waited  for  her  escort  to  come  for  her.     As 

we  three  sat,  Mr.  D was  so  caressing,  so  devoted.     Looking  at 

me  with  beaming  eyes,  he  said : 

"I  hope  my  pet  is  not  tired;  you  look  fatigued." 

He  drew  his  chair  near  to  mine,  slipped  his  arm  round  me,  and  drew 
my  head  down  on  his  shoulder,  patted  me  on  the  cheek,  and  said: 

"Rest  there,  dearest." 

I  never  knew  that  a  human  heart  could  cover  up  such  consummate 
hypocrisy.     Miss  B was  perfectly  charmed.     She  said: 

"  If  I  thought  I  could  be  as  happy  as  you  two  are,  and  (looking  at 
me)  that  I  could  have  such  devotion  as  you  have  from  a  husband,  I 
should  marry  to-morrow,  and  remain  in  the  colony." 

I  fairly  shuddered,  and  mentally  said:   "God  forbid." 

"I  fear  I  spoil  my  little  wife,  she  gets  contrary  sometimes,"  Mr. 
D said. 

Astonishment  kept  me  silent.     When  Miss  B said, 

"I  never  saw  a  happier  couple  than  you  two,"  I  was  in  perfect  tor- 
ture. 

Miss  B left  the  house  with  the  most  exalted  opinion  of  Mr. 

D as  a  model  husband,  and  of  my  happiness.    As  soon  as  we  were 

alone,   Mr.   D came  near  to  me,  and  with  a  mocking,  fiendish 

laugh,  said: 

' '  I  fear  such  treatment  as  you  had  to-night  might  spoil  you,  if  I  did 
not  counteract  it,  so  I  intend  to  show  you  what  I  can  do." 

He  poured  out  a  tumbler  of  wine  and  drank  it;  he  then  took  a  razor 
and  deliberately  sharpened  it,  saying,  "I  intend  to  cut  your  throat."  I 
begged  for  life,  not  that  I  loved  it,  for  all  hope  of  happiness  had  fled. 
I  feared  not  to  die,  for  I  knew  in  whom  I  believed;  but  I  feared  thai- 
Mr.  D would  die  a  murderer's  death.     This  thought  horrified  me, 

and  made  me  beg  for  life.  Hope,  love,  fear,  all  were  dead  for  myself, 
I  only  feared  for  him.     My  earnest  prayer  was  not  to  die  by  the  hand 

of  Mr.  D .     What  an  experience  was  mine !    what  a  bitter  cup  I 

had  to  drink !  ' '  Let  me  die  a  natural  death,  O  my  Father,  that  I  may 
be  removed  from  the  presence  of  a  man  who  desires  my  death.  He 
may  then  repent,  when  the  temptation  in  my  person  to  cruelty  is  re- 
moved."    I  cried  for  rest  for  my  tortured  heart.     My  reason  seemed 


SAD  EXPERIENCE  OF  WEDDED  LIFE.  1 85 

tottering  on  its  throne.  "  Oh,  thou  who  hearest  the  mourner's  prayer, 
soften  the  stony  heart,  and  turn  aside  the  scowHng  looks,  which  are  so 
full  of  heartless  cruelty;  give  me  a  few  hours  of  peace  and  tranquillity 
to  calm  my  troubled  mind,  ere  I  pass  to  the  great  unseen.  I  have 
ceased  to  hope  for  mercy  from  the  brutal  man.  Have  mercy  on  his 
sin-stained  soul,  O  God."     This  was  my  prayer. 

Miss  Gawlor  came  to  ask  me  to  accompany  them  to  Port  Adelaide, 
on  their  way  to  England.  Miss  Julia  and  I  had  formed  a  sincere  affec- 
tion for  each  other  in  our  desert  travels.  Now  she  was  leaving  the 
colony,  and  she  wished  me  to  be  with  her  to  the  last.     In  my  heart  I 

wished  to  go,  but  feared  to  say  so.     Mr.  D was  asked  to  go,  and 

take  me  with  him.  He,  with  all  the  blandishment  he  was  capable  of 
showing,  said  he  considered  it  a  high  compliment  to  be  invited,  and 
would  show  his  appreciation  of  the  honor  by  being  there.  Turning  to 
me,  he  said: 

"I  hope  you  will  not  disappoint  any  one,  as  you  know  I  wish  to  be 
there" — he  lowered  his  tone  so  as  just  to  be  heard  by  Miss  Julia — 
"But  if  you  take  the  sulks,  I  do  not  know  how  it  will  be." 

"Oh,  Eliza  does  not  sulk,"  said  Miss  Julia. 

She  and  Mr.  D bandied  a  few  pleasant  words  together,  and 

parted  good  friends.  I  was  glad,  as  I  had  a  desire  to  go  to  the  port 
and  see  the  embarkation.  As  soon  as  Miss  Gawlor  left,  I  said  I  was 
glad  he  had  arranged  to  go  to  the  port.  He  took  me  in  his  arms, 
swung  me  off  my  feet,  then  dropped  me  suddenly,  put  his  hands  on  his 
knees,  and,  with  one  of  his  demoniacal  laughs,  looked  in  my  face,  and 
said:   "You  are  not  going." 

"Oh,  yes,"  I  said;  "you  have  made  the  arrangement,  and  given 
your  word  that  we  should  go." 

A  volley  of  oaths  burst  from  him,  then  he  said : 

"I  pleased  Miss  Gawlor  that  I  might  disappoint  you,  and  make  her 
think  you  took  the  sulks.     Ha!  ha!     I  shall  do  for  you  there." 

He  left  me,  rubbing  his  hands  in  great  glee  at  my  amazement,  for, 
truly,  I  was  in  a  maze  at  this  new  act  of  perfidy.  I  asked  him  to  let 
me  go  and  say  good-bye  to  Miss  Gawlor,  if  I  could  not  go  to  the  port, 
as  she  would  feel  the  disappointment  as  well  as  myself. 

"No,  you  shall  not  see  her  again,  and  if  you  attempt  it,  I  shall  take 
your  life." 

"Oh,  what  is  such  a  life  worth,"  I  exclaimed. 

I  wrote  a  note  to  my  friend  Julia,  l)idding  her  good-bye,  wishing  her 
every  happiness,  and  a  pleasant  voyage  home.     I  tried  to  write  cheer- 


lS6  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

fully,  and  told  her  not  to  think  her  loving  friend  had  the  sulks,  for  cir- 
cumstances, over  which  I  had  no  control,  prevented  me  going  to  the 
port.  I  gave  the  note  to  my  little  maid  to  put  in  the  post-office.  On 
the  day  the  governor  and  family  left  the  colony,  I  shut  myself  up  in 
my  room,  and  cried  in  all  the  abandonment  of  grief.  While  I  was  sor- 
rowing, Mr.  D came  into  my  room  with  an  open  note  in  his  hand, 

and  said: 

"Do  you  know  this?" 

I  thought  it  might  be  an  answer  to  mine  to  Miss  Gawlor.  I  asked 
him  for  it. 

"Let  me  read  it  first." 

He  read  with  a  bitter,  ironical  tone,  my  note  to  Miss  Gawlor.  I 
sprang  to  my  feet,  and  said : 

"  Oh,  Mr.  D ,  how  did  you  get  that  letter  out  of  the  post-office? 

Julia  will  be  gone  ere  it  reaches  her." 

"This  letter  was  never  in  the  post-office,  nor  shall  it  ever  reach  Miss 
Gawlor.    Your  maid  brought  it  to  me  according  to  my  instructions.    I 
know  all  your  actions;  I  pay  that  girl  to  watch  you." 
I  cared  but  little  what  he  did  now,  I  was  weary  of  life. 

We  were  invited  to  a  party,  and  I  must  go,  because  Mr.  E and 

Mr.  L were  to  be  there,  and  I  was  told  to  make  myself  agreeable 

to  them.     I  was  to  pay  them  attention.     I  said  I  would  pay  them .  as 

much  attention  as  Mr.  D 's  wife  ought  to  pay  to  such  men. 

"Bah!   Mr.  D 's  wife  is  not  to  make  a  show  of  superiority  over 

his  friends." 

At  the  party  he  was  bland  and  caressing.  This  manner  was  a  cur- 
tain to  cloak  all  sorts  of  perfidious,  treacherous  brutality,  which  I  suf- 
fered from  him  on  the  road  home.  Ere  I  reached  home,  I  was  one 
mass  of  bruises  from  head  to  foot.  I  ventured  to  ask  him  why  I  was 
kissed  and  kicked,  caressed  and  cursed,  beaten  and  bruised  so  fearfully 
all  in  one  hour. 

He  coolly  answered:  "Because  I  wish  people  to  think  I  wish  you 
well,  treat  you  well,  and  love. you  well.  Ha!  ha!  And  you  dare  not 
tell  them  to  the  contrary." 

I  told  him  I  had  no  desire  to  expose  him.  I  had  prayed  to  God  to 
reconcile  me  to  my  bitter  lot.  I  had  no  hope  of  change  in  him.  I 
had  never  made  complaint  to  mortal;  but  I  ventured  to  tell  him: 

"Vengeance  is  mine,  saith  the  Lord;  I  will  repay."  "You  will 
have  to  give  an  account  to  your  Maker  for  your  evil  deeds." 

All  Christmas  week  Mr.  D and  his  boon  companions  drank  and 


SAD  EXPERIENCE  OF  WEDDED  LIFE.  1 87 

gambled,  and  I  had  the  benefit  of  his  fury.  The  bruises  I  carried 
about  with  me  were  hard  to  bear,  but  the  bruises  of  a  bhghted  heart 
were  far  more  unendurable.  The  grief  that  must  not  be  spoken,  the 
weight  of  woe  that  must  be  borne  alone,  bends  the  spirit.  Who  can 
know  this,  but  those  who  have  suffered  ?  The  deadly  upas-tree  was 
overshadowing  my  whole  life.  I  suffered  from  the  repeated  attacks 
at  this  memorable  period.  My  lips  were  sealed  with  woe.  Tears, 
wrung  from  my  torn  heart,  flowed  silently.  I  uttered  no  word  of 
reproach  or  complaint.  I  hoped  that  God  would  soon  release  me. 
One  evening  I  was  looking  out  at  the  door  with  a  feeling  of  blank 
despair  at  my  heart,  when  a  tolerably  well-dressed  young  woman  with 

a  child  in  her  arms  came  to  me,  and  asked  if   Mr.   D was  at 

home. 

"No;  but  if  you  have  a  message  for  him,  I  shall  deliver  it  to  him 
when  he  comes  home,"  I  said. 

"No,  I  have  no  message  to  leave  with  you;  I  shall  wait  for  him  till 
he  comes  home,"  and  she  pushed  past  me  into  the  house. 

I  asked  her  who  she  was,  and  what  she  wanted  in  my  house  ?  She 
looked  at  me  very  quizzically,  and  said  : 

"Your  house?     I  guess  I  have  as  much  right  here  as  you  have." 

She  left  ere  Mr.  D came  home.     I   told  him  of  the  strange 

woman,  and  asked  if  he  knew  her.  He  said  her  husband  was  in  prison 
for  forgery,  and,  as  he  was  to  be  on  the  jury  at  the  trial,  she  wished 
him  to  get  her  husband  clear  if  possible.  I  asked  him  if  he  knew 
why  she  had  said,  she  had  as  good  a  right  to  my  house  as  I  had.  A 
severe  blow  on  the  mouth  was  the  answer.  With  an  oath  he  left  me 
to  go  to  her,  to  attend  to  her  husband's  business,  as  he  said. 

In  my  Bible-reading  I  came  across  this  passage:  "It  is  impossible 
but  that  offences  will  come :  but  woe  unto  him  through  whom  they  come !" 
On  reading  this  passage  a  new  fear  took  hold  of  me.     I  asked  God 

if  I  were  under  his  curse  as  well  as  my  husband's?     Mr.  D had 

deeply  offended  God  by  his  perjury,  his  profanity  and  his  treatment  of 
me.  I  asked  myself  if  I  were  the  one  through  whom  his  offences 
came  ?  Were  I  to  leave  him  he  would  not  have  the  temptation  to  sin 
so  fearfully.  I  had  asked  God  to  take  me  out  of  this  evil  man's  way, 
hoping  that  were  I  removed  he  might  repent  of  his  wickedness  and 
become  a  better  man.  If  through  me  the  offences  came,  would  the 
Bible  sanction  my  leaving  him?  I  knew  not;  my  way  was  dark.  But 
woe  to  him  through  whom  the  offence  comes.  I  thought  I  could  not 
live  under  God's  ban.     What  would  I  not  have  given  for  one  hour's 


l88  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE, 

free  confidential  conference  with  a  minister  of  the  church,  to  expound 
to  me  the  word  of  God,  and  show  me  my  duty;  but  this  could  not  be. 
I  could  only  pour  into  the  ear  of  my  heavenly  Father  my  heart  sorrows. 
I  went  to  his  word,  and  it  was  its  own  interpreter  to  me ;  I  had  no 
other.  I  read  in  i  Corinthians  vii.  lo,  ii:  "Let  not  the  wife  depart 
from  her  husband.  But  and  if  she  depart,  let  her  remain  unmarried." 
Here  was  a  way  open  for  me,  in  God's  own  word,  to  escape  from  dire 
persecution.  A  wife  was  permitted  to  depart  under  certain  conditions, 
all  of  which  I  was  more  than  willing  to  comply  with,  if  the  soul  of 

Mr.  D could  be  saved  by  my  going  away.     The  Bible  lay  on  my 

lap,  my  finger  on  the  passage  just  read,  and  I  in  a  profound  study 

about  it,  when  Mr.  D came  in  and  sat  down  beside  me  in  great 

good  humor,  saying: 

"My  dear,"— 

I  asked  him  not  to  use  that  expression,  for  it  was  the  precursor  of 
evil. 

"My  dear,"  he  repeated,  "you  have  said  that  you  would  never 
leave  me,  and  that  if  I  left  you,  you  would  follow  me,  go  where  I 
would." 

"Yes,  I  have  said  so." 

"I  wish  to  test  you.  I  am  going  to  New  Zealand  to  open  a  new 
business.  I  am  going  to  take  men,  money  and  material,  and  when  I 
am  established  there,  I  shall  send  for  you,  and  you  shall  come  to  me. 
Meantime,  you  shall  take  charge  of  this  business,  collect  the  debts, 
pay  the  men,  and  do  just  as  I  would  were  I  here." 

I  was  astounded  at  this  new  state  of  affairs,  and  could  not  answer. 
He  asked  me  how  I  should  like  going  to  New  Zealand. 

"Mr.  D ,"  I  said  in  a  quiet,  firm  tone,  "I  shall  not  go  to  New 

Zealand." 

"Not  go  when  I  shall  send  for  you?" 

"No,"  said  I. 

"Well,  if  I  come  for  you,  of  course  you  will  go." 

"No,"  said  I,  "I  shall  not  go  to  you,  or  with  you.  I  shall  be  quite 
willing  to  do  anything  I  can  for  you  while  you  are  gone.  I  shall  be 
faithful  to  your  interests,  but  you  must  give  me  a  power  of  attorney." 

"Why  so  particular  about  a  power  of  attorney?" 

"Because  you  told  me  Mrs.  ,  the  merchant's  wife,  was  impris- 
oned for  doing  business  in  her  husband's  name  and  absence  without 
one,  and  I  do  not  wish  my  services  to  be  rewarded  by  imprisonment." 

"You  are  talking  in  a  strange  way;  I  never  heard  you  talk  so  before. 


SAD  EXPERIE^'CE  OF  WEDDED  LIFE.  1 89 

You  were  always  glad  to  do  just  what  you  were  told  to  do.  Does 
your  Bible  teach  you  to  disobey  me  ?     I  see  it  on  your  lap.'' 

"No,  not  that;  but  it  tells  me  that  there  is  a  woe  to  those  who 
cause  another  to  sin.  I  have  heard  you  say  that  you  took  pleasure  in 
treating  me  brutally,  and  while  so  engaged  you  blaspheme  the  name 
of  God  so  fearfully,  and  perjure  yourself,  and  otherwise  act  the  fiend, 
that  I  think  were  I  to  leave  you,  you  would  not  commit  those  fearful 
sins,  and  you  might  become  a  better  man  without  me.  And  the  Bible 
says  I  may  leave  you  without  smning,  and  I  am  going  to  do  so.  You 
have  broken  every  marriage  vow,  and  you  need  not  think  because  I 
submitted  quietly  to  your  perfidious  conduct,  that  I  did  not  feel  the 
bitter  injustice,  the  mighty  wrong,  and  the  treachery  used  toward  me, 
or  that  I  loved  life  when  on  my  knees  I  begged  for  it  from  you.  I 
have  held  my  marriage  vow  too  sacred  either  to  leave  you,  or  expose 
you,  or  have  the  tie  loosed  or  broken  in  any  way.  Nothing  on  earth 
would  have  induced  me  to  leave  you.  But  God's  word  has  provided 
a  way  of  escape  for  me  from  your  cruelty,  I  will  not  return  evil  for 
evil,  for  God  has  said:  'Vengeance  is  mine;  I  will  repay,'  and  I  leave 
you  in  his  hand.  You  have  cursed  your  mother  and  me  because  I, 
like  her,  took  the  Bible  as  a  guide.  But  I  warn  you  that  that  same 
Bible  says:  'He  who  curseth  father  or  mother,  let  him  die  the  death.' 
'His  lamp  shall  be  put  out  in  obscure  darkness.'  I  have  lost  all  con- 
fidence in  you.  When  we  were  married,  I  believed  you  to  be  what 
you  professed  to  be,  a  good  Methodist,  or  you  should  never  have 
mocked  me  at  the  altar  with  a  perjurer's  vows.  But  it  is  all  over  now, 
and  I  forgive  you.     May  you  repent  and  be  forgiven  of  God," 

I  do  not  know  why  I  had  the  courage  to  speak  to  Mr,  D .     I 

felt  like  one  inspired.  I  did  not  feel  afraid  as  was  my  wont.  Why  I 
was  listened  to  I  know  not,  but  so  it  was.  He  begged  me  not  to 
leave  him;  he  could  not  live  without  me;  he  would  be  a  better  man, 
I  had  no  faith  in  his  protestations.  "Woe  to  him  by  whom  the  offense 
Cometh"  was  too  vividly  impressed  on  my  mind  for  me  to  compromise 
in  the  least  degree.  My  mind  was  fixed.  Again  I  told  him  if  he 
gave  me  a  power  of  attorney,  I  should  be  faithful  to  his  interests  till 
he  was  settled  in  his  new  home,  or  till  his  return  to  wind  up  his  affairs 
in  Adelaide,  and  on  the  day  he  returned  I  should  render  to  him  his 
own,  and  give  an  account  of  what  I  had  done,  give  him  his  keys,  then 
leave  him  forever.  He  rose  up  and  asked  if  this  determination  was 
final? 

"Yes,"  I  said. 


190  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

He  said  he  would  do  all  he  could  to  alter  it. 

"Meantime,  I  shall  give  you  a  power  of  attorney,  and  I  shall  give 

my  friend  Mr.  E instructions  to  attend  to  you  and  look  after  your 

interests.  In  fact,  I  shall  leave  you  in  his  charge  entirely,  till  I  either 
return  for  you  or  send  for  you." 

A  dirk-point  could  not  be  keener  to  pierce  than  was  this  speech. 

"Mr.  ,"  I  said,  "think  of  the  character  of  that  man,  and  the 

danger  you  wish  to  place  me  in,  by  commissioning  him  to  look  after 
me;  this  empowers  him  to  come  here  at  all  times,  and  certainly  my 
name  and  fame  would  be  soiled  by  such  acquaintance." 

"I  tell  you  again,  Mr.  E shall  have  charge  of  you,"  said  Mr. 

D . 

With  all  the  energy  I  could  muster,  I  said: 

"My  good  name  is  all  I  possess,  and  it  is  more  precious  than  gold; 
and  I  tell  you  I  shall  not  consent  to  be  robbed  of  it.  That  man  shall 
not  enter  my  house  while  you  are  gone,  or  if  he  does,  that  instant  I 
leave  it.  I  shall  not  consult  him  on  any  business  whatever.  I  will 
shun  him  as  I  would  the  pestilence.  So  I  pray  you  not  to  talk  to  him 
of  me." 

Mr.  D gave  me  one  of  his  mocking  laughs,  and  left  me. 

In  the  bar-room  of hotel,  Mr.  M ,  the  proprieter,  overheard 

Mr.  D and  Mr.  E concocting  dire  mischief,  of  which  I  was 

to  be  the  victim.     Mr.  E had  written  out  the  power  of  attorney, 

and  they  had  put  their  names  to  it,  but  without  the  name  of  a  witness  to 
their  signing  their  names,  the  document  was  illegal;  this  was  to  be  given 
me  to  act  upon :  then  I  could  be  imprisoned.  I  would  be  entirely  in 
the  power  of  these  wicked  plotters.  The  Lord  did  not  forsake  me  at 
that  time.  He  fought  for  me  against  those  who  were  spreading  a  net 
for  my  feet,  and  digging  a  pit  for  me  to  fall  into.  They  were  check- 
mated by  Mr.  M ,  the  proprietor,  who  treated  them  to  some  rare 

Constantia  wine  that  he  had  lately  imported.  While  they  were  enjoy- 
ing the  wine,  they  were  forgetful  of  the  document  as  it  lay  on  the 

table.    Mr.  M quietly  removed  it,  put  his  name  to  it,  as  he  had  seen. 

the  other  two  sign  their  names,  and  thus  made  the  document  legal, 

and  replaced  it  unseen.    Mr.  D ,  all  smiles,  presented  me  with  the 

power  of  attorney,  and  said: 

"Now,  you  have  everything  in  your  possession,  act  for  me,  and 
when  I  return  for  you,  I  will  reward  you  in  a  way  you  litde  think  of." 

"I  said  I  would  do  all  I  could  for  him,  but  I  would  not  go  with 


SAD  EXPERIENCE  OF  WEDDED  LIFE.  igi 

him  or  stay  with  him.  I  raised  my  eyes  to  his  as  I  said  this,  and  I 
saw  the  demon  again  dancing  in  his  eye,  as  he  said : 

"I  will  make  you  glad  to  wish  to  live  with  me  yet." 

I  feared  to  answer  him.  The  bar-room  and  gaming-table  had  crip- 
pled his  resources,  but  he  might  retrieve  his  losses  in  another  colony. 
He  sailed  away  and  left  me  alone,  sick  and  weary  of  life.  I  had  de- 
cided to  leave  my  husband,  my  home,  without  one  thought  of  where 
I  should  go,  or  what  I  should  do.  The  Bible  teaches  woman  her 
whole  duty  to  God  and  man.  My  duty  seemed  to  stand  out  in  bold 
relief,  and  though  my  heart  sank  at  the  thought  of  facing  the  dark 
and  frowning  world  again,  yet  I  must  bear  the  cross  and  follow  the 
Savior,  and  he  said:  "I  will  never  leave  thee  nor  forsake  thee."  This 
thought  gave  me  fresh  courage  to  do  what  I  had  taken  in  hand,  and  I 
set  about  it  at  once.    I  gave  instructions  to  the  foreman  never  to  allow 

Mr.  E to  pass  through  his  domain  to  come  into  the  house,  and  to 

tell  him  that  I  could  not  see  him.  I  gave  him  instructions  about  busi- 
ness, told  him  to  do  the  best  he  could  and  I  should  be  satisfied ;  but  I 

also  wished  to  give  entire  satisfaction  to  Mr.  D on  his  return.     I 

set  my  house  in  order,  for  I  felt  very  ill  and  might  die.  I  was  strug- 
gling to  keep  off  sickness,  but  it  was  taking  fast  hold  of  my  whole 
system. 

At  this  time  I  had  a  letter  from  my  mother;  she  was  on  her  way  to 

me.     Mr.  D ,  in  one  of  his  sober,  repentant  moods,  had  urged 

me  to  send  for  her,  as  she  had  lost  her  husband.  When  Mr.  McLaren 
went  home  to  England  I  gave  him  money  to  pay  my  mother's  expenses 
out  to  me.     I  did  this  to  secure  her  coming.     I  had  hoped  that  she 

might  be  a  check  upon  the  madness  of  Mr.  D ■,  but  she  was  too 

late  for  that.  However,  I  felt  thankful  that  she  was  coming  to  me. 
I  hoped  to  show  her  that  religion  was  to  be  valued  far  more  than  all 
the  world  beside.  I  would  be  good  and  kind  to  her,  and  make  her 
forget,  if  she  remembered,  that  three  years  before  she  had  thrust  me 
from  her  to  wander  the  wide  world  alone.  With  tottering  steps  and 
throbbing  brows  I  threw  fnyself  into  my  mother's  arms,  and  wept  on 
her  shoulder,  when  she  landed,  I  felt  as  if  I  could  sob  out  my  life 
on  her  bosom.  She  did  not  let  me  lie  there  long,  she  held  me  at  arms 
length,  and  asked  me  if  I  had  followed  the  fashion,  to  dye  my  hair 
and  paint  my  face. 

"O  God,"  I  mentally  exclaimed,  "is  it  thus  my  dearly  loved  mother 
greets  me?  Why  does  she  mock  me  ?  What  does  she  mean?  Paint- 
ing my  face  and  dyeing  my  hair!" 


192  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

The  explanation  was,  my  golden  locks  had  become  nearly  black; 
my  pure  white  skin  had  become  slightly  bronzed  by  exposure,  and  the 
rose-tints  had  forsaken  my  cheeks.  I  took  my  mother  home  and  sur- 
rounded her  with  everything  that  affection  could  devise  for  her  com- 
fort and  well-being.  Questions  about  her  dear  son-in-law  were  endless; 
from  his  letter  to  her  she  had  formed  an  exalted  opinion  of  him.  It 
wrung  my  heart  to  have  to  tell  her  of  his  real  character,  but  it  had  to 
be  done.  I  begged  her  to  be  my  friend  in  my  great  need.  "I  have  no 
living  being  but  you  to  cling  to,  dear  mother;  do  not  again  cast  me 
off,  for  I  am  very  desolate."     She  answered,  in  a  very  bitter  tone: 

"I  shall  inquire  of  Mr.  D when  he  returns  what  you  have  done 

that  he  drives  you  from  the  comfortable  home  that  he  has  provided 
for  you." 

"Mother,  dearest,  I  have  done  nothing  but  obey  God  rather  than 
man,  and  man's  cruelty  drives  me  from  the  shelter  of  home,  and  it  is 
my  stern  duty  to  go  from  him  who  has  perjured  himself  in  every  way, 
and  deceived  me.  By  staying,  I  cause  him  to  commit  more  sin,  and 
I  do  not  wish  him  to  sacrifice  his  soul  by  committing  murder.  My 
duty  is  plainly  marked  out  for  me." 

"Where?  and  by  whom?" 

"In  the  Bible,  and  by  its  author." 

"Humph!  I  thought  so.  I  tell  you  what  it  is,  your  religion  is  not 
going  to  give  you  happiness  in  this  world.  It  will  do  you  no  good. 
Give  it  up,  and  make  the  best  you  can  of  all  the  good  things  you  have. 
For  my  part,  I  mean  to  enjoy  them,  and  if  you  leave  your  husband,  I 
shall  stay  with  him." 

"I  must  bear  my  burden  alone.  Only  He  who  laid  it  on  me  can 
take  it  away  or  give  me  strength  to  bear  it." 

I  had  often  fainted  by  the  way,  had  the  Lord  not  taken  me  up. 
"Wait  on  the  Lord,  be  of  good  courage,  and  He  shall  strengthen  thine 
heart."  The  excitement  of  the  departure  and  the  arrival  kept  me  up, 
but  my  physical  strength  was  lessening  daily.  The  doctor  advised  a 
complete  change  of  scene.  My  friend  M — —  sent  an  invitation  for 
me  to  spend  a  few  days  with  her  in  the  country.  Her  invitation  was 
opportune,  and  I  accepted  it.  I  put  everything  in  order  and  left  my 
mother  in  charge.  On  a  bright,  beautiful  morning  a  little  German 
carriage  with  two  cream-colored  ponies  drew  up  at  the  door.  I  stepped 
in  and  was  driven  away  toward  the  mountains. 

As  Mr.  Freeman's  station  was  more  than  a  day's  journey  from 
'Adelaide,  I  put  up  at  Hausdorf,  a  German  village.     Here  the  Ger- 


SAD  EXPERIENCE  OF  WEDDED  LIFE.  1 93 

mans  who  were  persecuted  at  home  for  their  religion  found  an  asylum, 
and  gave  the  names  of  several  places  in  their  Fatherland  to  the  places 
which  they  settled.  My  wants  were  few,  and  my  kind  hostess  easily 
supplied  them.  I  was  greatly  fatigued  by  my  day's  travel  over  the 
mountains.  On  retiring,  I  was  ushered  into  a  recess,  my  hostess  wait- 
ing to  help  me  undress,  and  then  pointing  to  a  large,  shallow  square 
box,  on  which  was  a  feather-bed,  in  her  sweet  broken  English  she 
told  me  to  lie  down]  but  I  saw  neither  sheets  nor  blankets,  quilts  nor 
pillows;  but  being  so  tired,  I  asked  no  questions,  and  lay  down.  Pres- 
ently the  woman  threw  on  top  of  me  another  feather-bed.  This 
roused  me.  I  thought  she  would  smother  me;  but  her  intention 
was  to  make  me  comfortable.  I  was  unacquainted  with  the  German 
mode  of  sleeping  between  feather-beds.  I  slept  more  soundly  than  I 
had  slept  for  months.  I  was  fain  to  lie  in  bed  next  day,  but  I  had  to 
finish  my  journey.  So  a  drive  of  a  few  hours  among  the  mountains 
brought  me  to  my  destination.  I  was  cordially  received  by  my  friends, 
with  whom  I  meant  to  spend  one  week.  But  many  weeks  rolled  round 
ere  I  could  return.  My  strength  left  me,  and  I  was  prostrated  on  a 
sick-bed,  and  not  expected  to  recover.  I  was  well  attended  by  Mrs. 
Freeman,  but  I  had  lost  all  interest  in  life.  I  wished  to  be  at  rest; 
but  God  willed  that  I  should  live.  My  life-work  was  not  yet  done; 
my  sufferings  were  not  yet  ended.  A  letter  from  Adelaide  hurried  me 
home  before  I  was  well  able  to  travel.  When  I  reached  home,  my 
mother  told  me  that  she  wished  that  I  had  stayed  a  few  days  longer. 
I  found  her  busy  preparing  for  a  party  she  was  giving  to  some  new- 
made  friends.  She  had  enjoyed  a  pleasant  time  whilst  I  was  from 
home  and  lying  on  a  sick-bed. 

Soon  after  my  arrival,  my  kind  friend,  Mr.  B called  to  inquire 

after  my  health.  I  felt  a  sudden  desire  to  make  Mr.  B my  confi- 
dant, and  ask  counsel  of  him.  I  asked  him  if  he  would  allow  me  to 
walk  to  and  from  church  beside  him,  on  Sundays  and  on  prayer-meet- 
ing nights.  He  smiled,  and  said  he  would  take  the  same  pleasure  in 
accompanying  me  to  and  from  church,  as  he  did  before  I  had  Mr. 

D to  do  it.     My  mother  thought  my  request  mere  folly.    Perhaps 

Mr.  B thought  so  too.     But  God  knew  that  there  was  no  folly  in 

my  heart  when  I  made  it.     Mr.  B was  a  respectable,  married  man, 

a  good  citizen,  the  father  of  a  family,  and  an  elder  in  the  church  of 
which  I  was  a  member.  I  greatly  preferred  this  good  man's  company 
and  counsel,  for  I  felt  tliat  I  could  trust  him,  to  the  debauchee  whom 

Mr.  D had  instructed  to  be  my  guardian.     I  told  Mr.  B why 

13 


194 


THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 


I  feared  being  much  on  the  street  alone ;  there  was  a  lion  in  the  way, 

or  at  least  a  bad  man,  whom  I  feared  to  meet.     Mr.  B quickly 

responded : 

"There  will  come  no  danger  to  you  while  Mr.  D is  gone,  if  I 

can  ward  it." 

]VIj-,  b was  too  delicate  to  ask  questions.     I  had  not  yet  gained 

courage  to  speak  out  what  I  minded  to  say,  and  so  weeks  passed.  My 
health  improved.  I  took  an  interest  in  the  Sunday-school.  I  had  a 
Bible  Class.  I  took  a  great  interest  in  it  especially.  I  was  beginning 
to  feel  how  happy  I  might  have  been.  Life  was  young,  the  world  was 
beautiful,  and  I  was  living  in  peace.    What  a  blessed  respite.    A  letter 

from  Mr.  D announced  his  intention  to  return  in  a  few  weeks. 

What  a  change  came  over  my  spirit.  Hitherto  my  bitter  wrongs,  my 
deep  griefs,  and  great  sorrows  had  been  unspoken,  they  had  been  hid- 
den deep  below  a  calm,  if  not  a  beaming,  countenance.  I  must  speak 
now,  as  the  time  to  act  a  very  important  part  was  drawing  near.  I 
would  rather  have  died,  and  carried  my  sorrows  to  the  grave,  than  to 
have  spoken  them;  but  I  could  not  die,  and  so  I  must  speak.  My 
little  sunshine  was  beclouded.  I  had  felt  strong,  but  now  I  felt  weak, 
and  had  it  not  been  for  God's  good  promises,  I  would  have  sunk  in 
despair.     With  faltering  tongue,  and  quivering  frame,  I  told  the  story 

of  my  wrongs  to  Mr.  B ,  and  through  him  to  the  church.     As  a 

member  of  the  church,  I  wished  to  do  nothing  that  it  would  disapprove 

of.     I  gave  my  reasons  for  wishing  to  leave  Mr.  D' .    I  hoped  that 

I  had  not  misinterpreted  the  Scriptures,  or  misunderstood  the  instruc- 
tions concerning  my  duties  to  God  and  my  husband.  I  had  acted, 
and  was  going  to  act,  in  accordance  with  those  instructions,  as  far  as  I 
understood  them.  I  wished  the  church  to  judge  my  actions  by  the 
truth.     The  church  members  were  astonished  at  what  they  heard,  for 

all  had  been  deceived  by  Mr.  D 's  manner.     The  church,  after 

hearing  my  statement,  passed  a  resolution  to  the  effect  that,  although 
they  were  bound  to  believe  me,  yet  never  having  heard  of,  or  even 

suspected  Mr.  D 's  cruelty  toward  me,  and  as  he  was  not  in  the 

colony,  they  would  wait  till  his  return  before  judging  the  case.  They 
said  if  the  case  was  half  as  bad  as  represented,  it  would  clearly  be  my 
duty  to  leave  him.  On  the  other  hand,  I  might  have  imagined  causes 
for  leaving  Mr.  D ,  when  none  existed.  I  acquiesced  in  their  de- 
cision.    I  prayed  to  God  to  stand  by  me  in  the  fiery  ordeal  I  had  yet 

to  pass  through.     I  well  knew  that  Mr.  D could,  and  would,  hide 

.his  hatred  with  Ijang  lips  and  fair  mien,  and  how  could  I  prove  his 


SAD  EXPERIENCE  OF  WEDDED  LIFE.  195 

cruelty,  when  none  but  God  and  myself  were  witnesses  of  it.  How 
dreadful  the  training,  how  painful  the  process,  that  teaches  you  to  con- 
ceal your  feelings,  even  when  your  heart  is  breaking.  Again  I  asked 
the  Lord  not  to  deliver  me  into  the  hand  of  my  enemy.  My  mother 
had  rented  a  house,  and  I  had  everything  ready  to  deliver  to  Mr. 

D on  his  arrival.     His  business  had  been  fairly  prosperous;  I  had 

paid  off  all  the  debts;  his  accounts  were  all  straight.  He  had  nothing 
to  do,  but  step  in  and  take  possession.  I  dreaded  the  meeting,  but  th^ 
suspense  I  was  in  was  fearful. 

The  dreaded  day  arrived;  when  Mr.  D landed,  I  fairly  quaked 

with  fear.  I  tried  to  read  my  Bible,  to  cull  words  of  comfort,  but  I 
could  not  see.  I  could  not  understand,  I  could  only  feel  a  great  terror 
creeping  over  me.  Hours  passed,  and  yet  he  did  not  come.  Why  the 
delay  ?  He  first  visited  his  dissolute  companions,  Mr.  E ,  the  law- 
yer, and  Mr.  S ,  the  baker,  to  hear  their  reports  about  me.     At 

last  he  came,  all  smiles,  and  a  manner  well  calculated  to  deceive  a 
stranger  was  put  on  for  the  occasion.  I  grew  faint  at  the  sound  of  his 
voice.  I  held  to  a  table  for  support  till  he  reached  me.  I  struggled 
hard  for  utterance  after  the  salutations  were  over.  He  overwhelmed 
my  mother  with  caressing  speeches,  and  took  her  a  willing  captive  by 
his  wiles. 

"By  jove,  my  dear  little  wife,  your  welcome  is  not  very  warm.  Is 
this  all  the  greeting  you  have  for  me,  who  have  come  all  the  way  from 
New  Zealand  to  see  you?" 

"  Mr.  D ,  you  know  I  can  not  greet  you  otherwise,  as  you  know 

my  intentions.  I  can  not  act  the  hypocrite.  I  deUver  to  you  your 
books,  keys,  and  all  that  is  yours.  You  will  find  everything  in  better 
order  than  when  you  left,  and  now  I  leave  you  and  your  house.  I  for- 
give you  for  all  the  ill  you  have  wrought  me,  but  I  can  never  be  aught 
to  you  but  a  stranger,  henceforth,  forever." 

"I  am  your  natural  protector,  little  one.  To  whom  do  you  wish  to 
go?     If  you  leave  me,  where  will  you  go?" 

"I  am  in  God's  hands.  He  will  direct  my  path,"  I  said. 

'^You  know  I  promised  to  love  and  cherish  you  as  long  as  I  live,  so 
you  must  allow  me  to  fulfill  my  promise,"  said  the  wily  man. 

"I  will  hear  no  more  of  this  cant,  Mr.  I) .  I  go  from  your  pres- 
ence forever,  hoping  that  you  may  turn  to  God  and  live." 

I  gave  him  the  keys,  and  he  gave  one  of  his  mocking  laughs,  which 
I  well  understood,  and  I  left  the  house,  never  to  enter  it  as  my  own 
again. 


196  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

I  had  asked  my  mother  to  accompany  me  to  her  house,  but  she  re- 
fused; she  said  she  preferred  the  company  of  her  son-in-law.  Oh, 
how  my  heart  sank  to  hear  my  mother  so  speak.  I  went  alone  to  my 
mother's  house.  It  was  now  to  shelter  a  poor,  broken-hearted,  deso- 
late creature.  As  soon  as  I  entered  my  new  home,  I  threw  myself  on 
my  knees,  and  asked  God  for  strength  and  guidance.  In  myself  I  had 
no  strength,  and  my  future  was  all  dark.  My  life  seemed  to  be  an  ever- 
lasting war  with  woe.  Oh,  how  empty  seemed  all  the  world  and  world- 
ly things  to  my  wounded,  bleeding  heart.  I  sat  down  by  the  fire  on 
a  low  stool,  crossed  my  arms  on  a  chair,  and  laid  my  weary  head  on 
them.  I  did  not  sleep,  I  could  not  think;  I  was  filled  with  an  unde- 
fined dread.  I  tried  to  reason  myself  out  of  the  feeling,  but  I  had  no 
power.  I  said  to  myself,  I  am  safe  from  personal  harm,  I  am  in  my 
mother's  house.  I  rose,  and  walked  the  floor.  I  was  like  one  in  a 
fearful  dream.  I  felt  bewildered.  ' '  Oh,  mother,  I  cried,  why  do  you 
not  come  home?"  At  last  she  came  home,  and  found  me  sitting  on 
the  stool,  with  my  head  on  the  chair.  My  hair  had  broken  loose  from 
its  fastenings,  and  hung  in  heavy,  disheveled  masses  over  my  neck 
and  arms. 

"Child,"  said  my  mother,  "why  are  you  not  in  bed?" 

I  raised  my  head  to  say  I  had  no  desire  to  go  to  bed. 

"How  ghastly  you  look;  you  will  be  ill  if  you  sit  up  any  later,  go 
to  bed  at  once;  it  is  late." 

There  was  something  in  my  mother's  manner  that  was  not  reassur- 
ing, but  I  said  nothing.  I  sat  as  before,  with  my  head  on  the  chair. 
My  mother  opened  the  room  door,  and  left  it  ajar  (it  opened  to  the 
street),  and  then  went  to  her  own  room.  "Merciful  Father,"  I  men- 
tally exclaimed,  "what  does  that  mean?"  My  poor  brain  seemed  on 
fire.  I  seemed  to  have  no  power  to  move,  and  still  I  sat,  till  past  the 
hour  of  midnight,  when  I  heard  the  door  move,  and  through  my  hair 

I  saw  Mr.  D ,  with  stealthy  step,  approach  the  place  where  I  sat. 

My  heart  gave  one  fearful  throb,  as  I  thought  that  my  mother's  hand 
had  let  the  man  who  sought  my  life  into  the  only  place  of  shelter  that 
I  had  upon  the  earth.  "O  God,"  I  said,  "surely  my  enemies  are 
those  of  my  own  household.  The  mother  has  turned  against  the 
daughter.     Truly,  I  am  a  child  of  sorrow,  an  heiress  of  woe."     My 

mother  met  Mr.  D in  the  middle  of  the  room;  they  had  a  short 

consultation.  They  thought  I  slept,  but  all  my  senses  were  keenly 
alive  at  that  moment.  I  heard  all  they  said.  Their  plans  were  so 
far  frustrated,  by  my  not  having  retired  to  my  own  room.     My  mother 


SAD  EXPERIENCE  OF  WEDDED  LIFE.  1 97 

helped  Mr.  D to  take  off  his  wet  coat,  as  rain  was  falling  very  fast 

outside.  Mother  and  husband  both  sat  down  beside  me,  and  discussed 
in  a  whisper  their  plans  to  secure  me.  I  almost  screamed  aloud:  "My 
God!  my  God!  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me?" 
,  I  could  endure  the  intensity  of  my  feelings  no  longer.  I  rose  and 
walked  out  into  the  darkness,  and  rain,  and  cold,  and  ran  as  fast  as 
my  strength  could  carry  me,  but  whither  I  knew  not.  Even  as  I  fled 
a  wild  feeling  of  rebellion  was  in  my  heart.  All  had  forsaken  me, 
and  I  believed  that  God  had  forsaken  me,  too.  I  questioned  his  justice 
in  robbing  my  life  of  all  happiness,  and  filling  my  heart  with  misery. 
I  told  God  he  did  not  care  for  me.  I  told  Jesus  that  he  could  not 
sympathize  with  me,  because  he  was  not  a  woman.  He  was  never 
tempted  as  I  was ;  He  was  never  situated  as  I  then  was.  My  reeling, 
burning  brain  was  coining  all  sorts  of  rebellious  thoughts.  Unknown 
to  myself,  my  feet  were  carrying  me  toward  a  precipice ;  sure  destruc- 
tion was  near  at  hand.  My  swift  race  was  checked,  but  by  no  human 
hand.  I  had  accused  Christ  of  want  of  sympathy  and  understanding 
of  my  situation.  But  a  word  of  sympathy  from  the  sweet  lips  of  the 
Man  of  sorrows,  who  was  acquainted  with  grief,  arrested  my  frantic 
steps,  and  shot  a  beam  of  light  athwart  my  beclouded  soul:  "The 
foxes  have  holes,  and  the  birds  of  the  air  have  nests,  but  the  son  of 
man  has  not  where  to  lay  his  head." 

"O  my  dear,  kind,  gracious,  long-suffering  Savior,  I  know  you  can 
understand  me  now;  help  my  unbelief,"  I  cried. 

I  stretched  out  my  arms  toward  the  sky,  though  thick  darkness  cov- 
ered it.  I  asked  my  dear  Lord  to  forgive  my  rebellious  unbelief. 
Tears  of  penitence  rained  down  my  cheeks  as  fast  as  the  rain  from  tlie 
black  clouds  rained  down  on  my  uncovered  head.  I  stood  and  wept, 
and  prayed  for  forgiveness.  Never  had  I  had  so  touching,  so  heart 
subduing,  so  soul  thrilling,  an  evidence  of  the  sympathy  of  my  Lord  as 
on  that  awful  night  when  I  was  without  a  friend,  without  a  home,  and 
the  midnight  storm  beating  down  on  by  defenseless  head.  Naught 
was  there  but  me  and  my  great  sorrow.  "As  a  father  pitieth  his  chil- 
dren, so  the  Lord  pitieth  them  who  fear  him."  The  Lord  had  pity  on 
me  that  night,  and  directed  my  poor  bewildered  head  to  a  shelter  with 
an  acquaintance  of  my  mother's.  I  tapped  at  the  door  and  she  opened 
it,  and  let  the  weary  wanderer  in.  She  was  greatly  alarmed  at  my 
appearance,  but  I  told  her  that  I  wanted  nothing,  only  shelter  till  day- 
light came,  which  would  l)e  in  two  hours.  Meantime,  I  dried  my 
clothes  by  the  fire. 


198  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

I  borrowed  a  hat  and  shawl  and  went  to  my  friend  Mr.  B 's 

house,  and  told  him  what  had  transpired,  and  I  asked  of  him  the 

protection  of  the  church,  as  I  feared  Mr.  D .     Mr.  N invited 

me  to  take  up  my  abode  with  his  family  for  the  time  being.     Mr. 

D 's  boon  companions  gave  him  such  reports  of  me  as  best  suited 

them.     Mr.  E I  had  not  seen  or  spoken  to  since  Mr.  D had 

left  the  colony,  but  the  three  determined  to  ruin  my  reputation,  if  they 
could  not  my  character,  and  they  circulated  evil  reports  such  as  they 

thought  would  accomplish  this  end.     Mr.  D made  himself  appear 

a  poor  victimized  man.  He  went  to  some  of  the  prominent  members 
of  the  church  and  plead  his  own  cause,  hoping  they  would  use  their 
influence  to  make  me  live  with  him.  He  said  I  had  been  ill-advised, 
but  he  was  willing  to  forgive  me  all  my  shortcomings.  He  believed,  he 
said,  that  my  motive  for  leaving  him  was,  that  I  might  have  a  separate 
maintenance,  and  have  more  freedom  to  gad  about.  He  said  he  could 
keep  me  handsomely  with  himself,  but  just  now  his  resources  were 
somewhat  crippled  and  he  could  not  well  support  me  separately.  His 
accusations  were  noted  down  by  the  elders  of  the  church.  They  said 
an  investigation  would  take  place  soon,  and  he  would  have  ample 
justice  done  him.  As  yet  I  knew  nothing  of  the  reports  the  wicked 
trio  had  been  spreading  abroad.     My  hiding-place  was  discovered, 

and  Mr.  D demanded  my  presence  at  his  house,   to  render  an 

account  to.  him  of  all  I  had  done  in  his  absence.     This  I  had  already 

rendered.     My  friend  Mr.  B ,  who  was  the  messenger,  had  some 

business  with  Mr.  D ,  and  he  advised  me  to  go  and  he  would  ac- 
company me.     Mr.  D accused  me  in  the  presence  of  Mr.  B 

of  acting  and  transacting  business  in  his  name,  and  appropriating  all 
the  money  I  could  collect  for  my  own  use  without  his  authority. 

"O  Mr.  ,"  I  exclaimed,  "you  gave  me  a  power  of  attorney; 

how  can  you  say  I  had  no  authority?  You  know  that  I  had,  and  I 
have  been  most  faithful  to  the  trust  reposed  in  me,  and  you  know  it." 

"Ha!  ha!   I  have  you  now  in  my  power,  and  all  the  powers  of 

will  not  save  you." 

And  he  laughed  his  own  demoniacal  laugh. 

"That  document  I  gave  you  was  not  legal,"  he  said. 

"Not  legal!"  I  exclaimed;  "and  what  are  you  going  to  do?"  I 
asked. 

"Prosecute  you,  and  put  you  in  prison  if  I  choose.  But  I  expect 
you  will  prefer  living  with  me  to  going  to  prison." 


SAD  EXPERIENCE  OF  WEDDED  LIFE.  1 99 

This  new  act  of  treachery,  I  said,  would  not  make  me  prefer  living 
with  him. 

"No;  I  prefer  to  go  to  prison  and  to  death  rather  than  live  with 
you."     "What  shall  I  do?"  I  asked  of  Mr.  B . 

"Show  me  the  document,"  said  he. 

I  handed  it  to  him,  and  he  read  it  very  carefully, 'while  Mr.  D , 

with  wicked  eyes,  watched  him  narrowly.     As  Mr.  B handed  me 

the  paper,  he  said: 

"This  is  a  legal  document,  duly  signed  and  sealed;  you  keep  it 
safe,  it  will  be  of  use  to  you." 

Ere  I  could  reach  the  paper,  Mr.  D sprang  upon  Mr.  B 

like  a  panther  on  his  prey,  saying : 

"It  is  not  legal,"  and  grappled  for  it.  "It  is  not  legal;  it  is  not 
signed;  I  shall  destroy  it." 

"When  you  get  it,"  said  Mr.  B ;  and  he  held  it  tight. 

In  the  struggle,  Mr.  D cut  Mr.  B 's  hand.     When  I  saw 

blood  flow,  I  screamed;  the  paper  fell  to  the  floor,  and  I  picked  it  up 

and  left  the  house,  but  returned,  fearing  for  Mr.  B .     But  he  was 

not  much  hurt.     When  I  screamed,  Mr.  D let  go  his  hold,  and 

resumed  all  the  blandishments  of  manner  he  was  capable  of  showing; 

hoped  Mr.  B was  not  hurt,  and  wished  to  know  why  he  said  that 

that  piece  of  paper  was  legal,  and  signed  and  sealed?  and  if  signed, 
who  signed  it  ?     Mr.  B said : 

"Mr.  M has  his  name  to  it  as  witness  to  you  and  Mr.  E 

having  signed  it." 

When  Mr.   D heard  that  Mr.  M had  his  name  on   the 

paper,  he  knew  the  paper  was  legal.  Then  all  the  smoothness  left  his 
face,  as  I  had  often  seen  it  before,  and  there  was  in  the  baffled  visage 
looking  at  me  that  which  might  have  startled  stronger  nerves  than 
mine,  and  the  savage  of  the  man's  nature  stood  out  clear  and  dark, 
and  unutterably  repulsive.  He  stood  still  a  moment,  as  if  contem- 
plating a  new  attack.  The  veins,  like  cords,  rose  on  his  forehead, 
and  his  eyes  glistened,  as  only  eyes  can  glisten  in  passion,  that  for  vio- 
lence is  little  better  than  insanity.  He  made  a  movement  toward  me. 
I  turned  and  fled  from  the  spot. 

"  Is  there  no  peace  for  me  this  side  of  the  grave?"  I  asked. 

I  had  looked  and  expected  protection  and  sympathy  from  my  mother, 
but  she  had  none  to  give  me.  "O  keep  my  soul,  and  deliver  me  not 
to  mine  enemies,"  was  my  prayer.  The  infuriated  man,  with  knife 
and  pistol,  hunted  me  like  a  wild  beast  everywhere.     Every  hour  my 


200  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

life  was  in  danger.    I  felt  that  in  the  colony  there  was  no  safety  for  me. 

The  chief  men  and  women  of  the  church  met  at  Mr.  N 's  house, 

where  they  invited  Mr.  D to  come  and  confront  me,  and  he  could 

state  all  his  objections  to  my  leaving  him;  also,  to  bring  proofs  of  all 
the  charges  he  had  brought  against  me  from  time  to  time.  He  came, 
but  was  very  guarded  in  what  he  said.  He  said  he  regretted  my  hav- 
ing given  them  so  much  trouble,  etc.  He  was  asked  to  prove  his 
allegations;  that  was  the  business  on  hand.  This  he  did  not  do,  but 
turned  to  me  and  hurled  bitter  words  at  me.  He  was  again  called 
upon  to  prove  what  he  had  accused  me  of.  He  said  his  word  was 
enough. 

"No,"  said  they;  "your  word  is  of  no  value.  You  have  falsified  to 
our  knowledge." 

He  asked  me  if  I  were  not  willing  "to  go  back  to  the  comfortable 
home  you  have  left  without  a  cause?" 

"I  have  no  home.  Think  you  if  I  had  such  a  husband  and  home 
as  you  have  represented,  that  I  would  be  willing  to  exchange  them, 
with  all  the  ease  and  comforts,  and  strong  arms  to  protect,  and  a  loving 
heart  to  cherish  me,  for  poverty  and  hard  work  ?  Would  I  go  forth  to 
meet  a  frowning  world  with  its  temptations,  cares,  pains  and  mortifica- 
tions? humbling  myself  for  employment  to  those  who  can  neither 
understand  my  situation,  nor  sympathize  with  it;  to  meet  those  who 
would  willingly  heap  affliction  on  affliction,  and  trample  on  the  already 
crushed  heart,  alone?  O  no;  no  one  will  say  I  went  forth  from  all  that 
my  heart  might  have  held  dear,  without  a  cause,"  I  said. 

"If  you  will  go,  you  must  return  to  me  all  the  gifts  I  ever  gave  you." 

"Most  willingly,"  I  said;  "name  them." 

The  watch,  a  wedding  gift,  and  all  else,  even  to  a  little  gold  pencil 
I  had  in  daily  use,  were  returned.  The  demon  dancing  in  his  eye, 
and  in  his  sneer,  was  noted  by  those  present,  when  he  said: 

' '  I  have  law  on  my  side,  and  I  can,  and  I  think  I  will,  strip  you 
now  of  all  your  wardrobe,  except  what  you  stand  in." 

' '  Well,  if  the  law  permits  you  to  do  that,  do  it.  I  ask  no  consid- 
eration or  sympathy  from  you.  You  have  planted  thorns  in  my  heart, 
and  they  have  torn  it  and  it  bleeds,  and  I  know  you  have  no  desire  to 
heal  the  wounds  you  have  made." 

"When  you  hand  your  trunks  over  to  me,  as  you  must  do,  what  will 
you  do  then?     Beg  to  be  taken  back  with  me?" 

"No,  no,  never;  I  will  go  forth  naked,  poor,  despised,  forsaken, 
friendless  and  alone,  leaning  on  the  arm  of  omnipotence,  rather  than 


SAD  EXPERIENCE  OF  WEDDED  LIFE.  201 

ask  anything  of  you,  or  live  with  you  again.  You  talk  of  a  separate 
maintenance.  I  would  not  accept  it,  were  you  to  offer  it;  I  want  noth- 
ing from  you,  good  or  bad." 

He  said:  "You  hand  over  your  trunks  when  I  send  for  them,  or," 
and  he  held  out  a  threat,  and  was  about  to  leave,  when  one  of  the  gen- 
tlemen, an  elder  of  the  church,  said : 

"Mr.  D ,  I  have  something  to  say  to  you  ere  you  go.    We  have 

heard  your  accusations,  your  circulated  reports,  and  dark  sayings 
against  your  young  and  innocent  wife,  and  we  have  acted  upon  them 

as  if  they  had  all  been  true,  and  caused  Mrs.  D much  unnecessary 

suffering.  We  have  done  this,  and  in  every  case  found  your  wife  not 
only  free  from  blame,  but  the  victim  of  diabolical  plots,  laid  by  you 
and  your  friends.  We  know  of  your  treachery  in  connection  with  die 
power  of  attorney.  You  have  done  your  utmost  to  destroy  the  repu- 
tation and  character  of  one  of  the  members  of  the  Baptist  Church; 
henceforth,  she  will  be  protected  by  the  Church,  as  she  has  been  in 
your  absence  from  the  colony.  We  did  not  know  at  the  time  what 
motive  she  had  in  asking  the  protection  of  one  of  our  elders.  We  now 
know,  and  commend  her  prudence.  God  has  mercifully  preserved 
her  through  all  the  trials,  fierce  and  strong,  that  you  have  made  her 
pass  through.  We  do  not  wish  to  say  much  to  you,  but  we  know  you. 
Your  false  tongue,  henceforth,  will  not  protect  you.  If  you  raise  your 
voice  to  speak  evil  of  one  whom  we  protect,  having  proved  her  in 
every  way  worthy,  we  shall  prosecute  you  with  rigor." 

He  was  unmasked,  and  there  he  stood  in  all  his  native  malignity, 
with  clouded  brow  and  wrathful  spirit.  With  muttered  curses  he  left. 
God  had  heard  and  answered  my  prayer.  He  did  not  deliver  me  to 
my  enemies,  but  he  raised  up  friends  for  me  in  my  greatest  need. 

*'God,  my  supporter  and  my  hope, 
My  help,  forever  near; 
Thine  arm  of  mercy  held  me  up, 
When  sinking  in  despair." 

It  was  suggested  that  I  should  prosecute  Mr.  D for  ill-treatment, 

etc. 

"No;  I  leave  him  in  God's  hands,  I  shall  do  him  no  harm.  All  I 
desire  is,  if  I  live,  to  provide  bread  for  myself  honestly  in  the  sight  of 
all  men." 

Letters  of  sympathy  came  to  me  from  various  quarters  unexpectedly. 
All  the  members  of  the  church  were  exceedingly  kind  to  me  in  my 


202  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

desolation.  Among  all  my  human  friends,  I  may  not  overlook  my 
canine  friend;  a  poor,  little,  black  puppy,  that  I  rescued  from  a  cruel 
master,  because  I  pitied  him,  grew  up  under  kind  treatment  to  be  a 
fine  English  mastiff,  perfectly  devoted  to  me,  and  he  had  saved  my 
life  one  evening.  But  much  as  we  loved  each  other,  my  friend  Bob 
and  myself  had  to  part.  I  was  afraid,  if  he  followed  me  in  my  wan- 
derings, he  might  fare  badly,  so  I  provided  for  him  a  good  home.  I 
went  to  say  farewell  to  my  four-footed  friend,  who  had  ever  walked  at 
my  side,  and  slept  at  my  door.  When  the  poor  brute  heard  my  voice, 
he  broke  loose  from  his  fastenings,  and  nearly  devoured  me  with  fran- 
tic joy.  His  huge  paws  were  planted  on  my  shoulders,  and  he  licked 
my  face.  I  put  my  arms  round  his  neck,  and  wept  at  parting  with 
him.  It  took  two  strong  men  to  draw  him  away  from  me.  Poor  Bob ! 
he  cried,  and  whined,  and  howled,  and  wriggled,  and  struggled  to  come 
to  me  again.  It  was  a  hard  parting,  but  it  had  to  be.  He  did  not  long 
survive.  My  friends,  as  well  as  myself,  knew  that  my  life  was  not  safe 
in  the  colony,  and  I  had  to  leave.      I  was  ready  to  go  where  the  Lord 

directed.  The  night  before  I  sailed  for  New  South  Wales,  Mr.  N n's 

house  was  well  filled  with  the  members  of  the  church,  who  had  come 
to  sup  with  me,  and  to  commend  me  to  the  protecting  care  of  my  heav- 
enly Father.  I  had  letters  of  commendation  and  introduction.  Every- 
thing possible  was  done  to  smooth  my  rugged  road.  But  a  dull  leth- 
argy seemed  to  take  hold  of  my  mind  and  heart.  My  pulses  grew  cold, 
and  almost  as  still  as  the  waveless,  tideless  surface  of  a  deep,  dark  lake. 
I  could  not  shake  off  the  despondency  at  the  time.  Longfellow  has 
said:  "Look  not  back  mournfully  into  the  past,  it  comes  not  again. 
Wisely  improve  the  present.  Go  forth  and  meet  the  future  without 
fear,  with  a  brave  heart."  I  had  no  fear,  nor  had  I  courage.  My 
friends  in  great  numbers  escorted  me  to  the  port,  and  saw  me  on  board 
of  the  vessel  that  was  to  bear  me  to  another  land.  Those  who  parted 
with  me  that  day  expected  to  hear  of  the  poor  girl  having  found  her 
final  resting-place  at  the  bottom  of  the  ocean  ere  the  voyage  ended. 
But  my  summons  did  not  come,  much  as  it  was  expected. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

RETURN  TO  NEW  SOUTH  WALES. 

We  sailed  out  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Vincent,  through  Backstairs  Passage, 
and  out  into  the  Great  South  Ocean.  We  had  fine  weather  and  fair 
winds.  Our  course  was  southeast,  till  we  reached  the  beautiful  island 
of  Van  Dieman's  Land.  We  entered  Storm  Bay,  at  the  south  side  of 
the  island,  and  took  in  a  pilot,  to  steer  our  vessel  up  the  beautiful  Der- 
went  River,  to  our  anchorage  at  Hobart  Town.  The  banks  of  the 
river  were  not  high,  but  very  picturesque.  This  gem  of  the  Southern 
Ocean  is  diversified  by  hill  and  dale,  and  green-tinted,  so  we  might 
name  it  after  its  sister  of  the  North,  Emerald  Isle.  Mt.  Wellington, 
the  highest  point  on  the  island,  forms  a  noble  background  to  the  city. 
The  island  is  well  watered,  and  being  in  South  latitude  44°,  it  has  a 
salubrious  climate.  It  is  divided  from  the  main-land  of  Australia  by 
Bass  Strait.  It  was  settled  by  free  colonists  and  convicts  in  1803.  They 
united  to  exterminate  the  wretched  savages,  by  forming  a  line  across 
the  island,  and  swept  all  before  them,  killing  and  driving  into  the  sea 
all  those  who  had  been  masters  of  the  land  ere  they  took  possession  of 
it,  and  so  ended  the  aboriginal  race  of  this  beautiful  island. 

As  it  was  Sunday  morning  when  we  anchored,  I  went  ashore.  The 
sun  shone  out  in  all  his  glory.  I  found  in  my  walk  a  little  chapel  with 
an  open  door,  through  which  I  walked,  and  took  a  seat.  The  Baptists 
had  planted  a  mission  here.  Presently  little  feet  came  pattering  in, 
and  formed  classes  for  a  Sunday-school.  The  superintendent,  seeing 
a  stranger,  asked  me  to  take  a  class,  but  I  preferred  to  listen.  I  had 
a  drive  to  the  foot  of  Mt.  Wellington,  and  I  enjoyed  much  my  visit  to 
this  ocean-girt  isle,  with  its  beautiful  and  varied  scenery  and  salubrious 
climate. 

A  singular  incident  happened  on  board,  as  we  were  sailing  up  the 
Derwent.  The  pilot,  a  profane  old  convict,  was  at  the  helm  swear- 
ing, and  telling  the  captain  that  of  all  the  convicts  sent  to  that  island, 
Scotchmen  were  the  worst.  In  answer  to  what  the  captain  said  of  the 
Scotch  being  moral,  he  said: 

"Yes;  but  when  they  arc  bad,  they  are  worse  than  other  people. 

(203) 


204  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

I  have  one  in  the  boat  alongside,  who  is  a  perfect  d — 1  in  temper,  but 
the  best  worker  I  ever  had." 

I  was  curious  to  see  a  Scotch  convict,  and  went  and  looked  over  the 
side  of  the  vessel  to  see  if  1  could  pick  him  out  from  his  fellows.  When 
I  looked  down,  I  saw  a  face  upturned  to  the  sun ;  for  ugliness,  it  had 
no  peer.  When  I  saw  the  bristling  red  hair,  like  a  fringe  of  fire,  sur- 
rounding a  small  black  cap,  set  on  top  of  the  head,  two  fierce,  red 
eyes,  the  gleaming  tusk-like  teeth,  I  cried  out: 

"Oh,  that  man  comes  from  Paisley!" 

In  an  instant  he  climbed  up,  and  was  over  the  side  and  on  the  ship's 
deck,  and  said: 

"I  am  from  Paisley,  who  knows  me?" 

A  gentleman  pointed  to  me,  for  I  had  taken  a  seat  as  I  looked  at 
the  poor  wretch.  I  thought  he  could  do  me  no  harm,  though  I  was 
afraid  of  him.  I  rose,  and  went  toward  him.  I  thought  I  might  do 
him  some  good  by  talking  to  him.  He  asked  when  and  where  I  had 
seen  him  before.  I  told  him  the  circumstances  that  surrounded  our 
first  meeting  redounded  no  credit  to  him,  so  he  had  better  make  no 
inquiries;  but  he  insisted  on  knowing,  and  I  told  him  in  substance  the 
following : 

As  a  child,  I  had  a  venturous  spirit;  I  knew  no  fear.  I  had  been 
taught  self-reliance  early.  I  had  been  sent  on  a  message  to  a  farm- 
house, one  mile  beyond  the  toll-gate  near  faisley,  one  beautiful  spring 
day.  The  pure  air,  the  bright  sun,  the  blue  sky  and  the  choristers  of 
the  grove  filling  all  space  with  their  melody,  made  my  heart  bound 
with  joy,  and  I  danced  along  the  road  to  the  music  of  the  birds  and 
my  own  happy  thoughts.  I  was  in  perfect  accord  with  all  nature.  A 
big  boy  overtook  me  and  asked  me  my  name,  where  I  lived,  where  I 
had  been  and  my  business,  all  of  which  questions  I  answered.  He 
asked  me  for  the  money  I  had  received  at  the  farm-house  I  had  just 
left;  he  would  take  care  of  it  till  we  reached  home.  I  stoutly  refused 
to  give  to  another  what  was  intrusted  to  me.  Whilst  talking  to  him, 
I  could  not  keep  my  eyes  off  him,  he  was  so  ugly  and  uncouth.  Again 
he  asked  me  for  the  money.  I  told  him  he  was  an  ugly,  bad  boy  to 
ask  me  for  it,  and  I  should  not  give  it  to  him.  We  were  just  then 
passing  a  gap  in  the  neat-cut  hawthorn  hedge,  through  which  streamed 
a  flood  of  light  from  the  sun  which  was  dipping  toward  the  west.  The 
hideous  boy  threw  down  his  basket,  clutched  me  by  the  throat,  and 
raising  aloft  a  huge  butcher's  knife,  said: 

"Give  me  the  money,  or  I  shall  stab  you  and  then  I  shall  take  it." 


RETURN  TO  NEW  SOUTH  WALES.  205 

He  looked  monstrously  ugly  as  he  stood  with  the  glittering  blade 
upraised.  I  bent  down  suddenly,  gave  myself  a  twist,  and  was  in- 
stantly free  from  his  grasp,  and  with  almost  lightning  speed  fled  back 
to  the  house  and  told  them  of  the  horrid  boy  with  tusk-like  teeth  and 
red,  glaring  eyes,  and  a  gleaming  knife  in  hand. 

That  picture  I  had  never  forgotten,  though  I  had  never  seen  it  from 
the  day  the  ugly  boy  threatened  to  take  my  life  for  a  few  shillings, 
till  I  saw  it  in  the  face  of  the  Scotch  convict. 

I  remained  at  the  farm-house  all  night,  and  in  the  morning  I  reached 
home  just  in  time  to  prevent  my  mother  having  the  canal  raked  for  my 
body.  She  had  taken  a  servant  with  her  the  night  before  to  go  and 
meet  me.  On  crossing  a  canal  bridge  my  mother  saw  me,  or  thought 
she  saw  me,  leaning  on  the  wall.  She  stretched  out  her  hand  to  take 
hold  of  me,  when  I  vanished.     She  said  to  the  servant : 

"We  may  go  home;  Eliza  is  drowned.  I  have  seen  her  wraith; 
but  I  shall  have  the  canal  raked  to-morrow  for  her  body." 

This  I  prevented  by  making  my  appearance. 

The  ugly  boy  went  on  in  his  career  of  crime  till  he  landed  in  a 
prison,  and  then  was  banished  to  the  antipodes,  where  he  suffered  for 
his  evil  deeds. 

We  reached  Sydney  after  a  pleasant  three  weeks'  voyage  without 
accident. 

On  reaching  Sydney,  I  found  my  sister  married  to  a  master  mariner. 
I  was  their  guest  for  a  short  time.  One  morning  I  read  in  a  news- 
paper, "Wanted — Nursery  governess."  This  I  thought  would  suit 
me,  as  I  must  earn  my  bread  and  be  independent.  I  thought  again, 
the  situation  may  suit  me,  but  it  may  be  that  I  will  not  suit  the  situa- 
tion. Oh,  God!  a  wife  bereaved  of  her  husband  has  no  need  to  hide 
her  grief;  it  is  a  dead  grief  that  time  will  heal,  but  the  separated  wife 
carries  a  living  grief  that  time  can  not  heal,  and  delicacy  prompts  to  con- 
cealment. Before  I  went  out,  I  knelt  and  asked  God  to  give  me  favor 
in  the  sight  of  those  to  whom  I  applied  for  the  situation.  In  deep 
humility  I  entered  the  gates  of  Granthamville  Castle,  the  residence  of 

Mr.  P ,  one  of  the  merchant  princes  of  New  South  Wales.     Mrs. 

P asked  for  credentials;  I  had  none.  But  I  said  that  I  was  will- 
ing to  perform  every  duty  the  situation  required.  I  told  her  I  needed 
protection  as  well  as  a  home,  and  they  could  give  me  both  if  they 
thought  I  could  suit  them.  I  only  claimed  one  privilege,  that  was,  to 
go  to  church  on  Sundays. 

' '  Many  young  persons  have  applied  for  the  situation    who  have 


206  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

come  highly  recommended,  with  first-class  credentials,  but  I  prefer 
you  without  credentials  or  recommendation,  feeling  assured  that  you 
will  discharge  the  duties  faithfully,"  said  Mrs.  P . 

My  heart  gave  one  great  throb;  my  utterance  was  choked.  I  could 
only  bow  my  head  in  gratitude.  Tears  filled  my  eyes  as  I  silently 
thanked  God  for  his  providential  care  of  me,  the  homeless,  unprotected 
one. 

Now,  I  thought,  I  can  provide  for  my  mother.  I  shall  pay  all  her 
expenses,  and  she  can  live  with  her  gay  and  worldly  daughter,  who  is 
her  favorite.  I  intended  to  do  everything  for  my  mother's  comfort 
that  lay  in  my  power.  At  Granthamville  Castle  I  had  not  only  a  com- 
fortable home,  but  one  of  comparative  ease  and  elegance.  My  sur- 
roundings suited  me  in  every  way.  The  family  was  well  regulated, 
though  fashionable.  They  went  to,  and  gave  balls;  theaters  and 
operas  were  patronized,  but  nothing  interfered  with  my  duties,  and  I 
discharged  them  with  pleasure.  A  financial  crash  came,  and  all  the 
great  houses  shook  to  the  center.  The  order  of  the  day  at  Grantham- 
ville Castle  was  retrenchment.  Mrs.  P was  an  exceedingly  ami- 
able woman.  She  told  me  one  day  that  she  was  exceedingly  sorry, 
but  for  a  time  she  would  have  to  dispense  with  my  services,  for  the 
reason  they  could  not  pay  me.  I  asked  her  if  that  was  the  only  reason 
she  had  for  wishing  to  dispense  with  my  services  ?  She  stopped  me, 
and  said: 

"We  do  not  wish  to  dispense  with  your  services.  We  do  not  wish 
to  part  with  you,  but  we  can  not  afford  to  pay  you." 

"Now  I  can  show  how  grateful  I  feel  to  you  for  taking  me  into 
your  family  without  commendation  of  any  kind,  and  giving  me,  when 
you  could,  a  liberal  salary.  I  shall  stay  with  you  without  salary  till 
the  crisis  is  over  and  you  are  able  to  pay." 

My  salary  was  reduced  for  a  time,  that  was  all. 

The  castle  grounds  were  beautifully  laid  out,  and  I  had  a  favorite 
little  arbor  under  the  wide-spreading  branches  of  a  majestic  Norfolk 
pine.  Up  the  sides  and  round  the  arbor  climbed  a  vine,  till  its  ten- 
drils reached  and  clasped  the  needle-shaped  leaves  of  the  tree,  and 
wove  an  impervious  shelter  from  the  sun.  Many  were  the  hours  I 
spent  in  this  quiet  nook.  I  had  another  quiet  resort,  but  this  was  only 
for  moonlight  nights,  when  the  family  were  at  a  ball  or  theater.  Then 
I  would  unlock  the  door  at  the  foot  of  the  tower  stairs,  and  go  up  to 
the  flat  roof  of  the  castle.  On  looking  over  the  battlements,  such  grace, 
such  glory,  such  silence  and  repose  could  not,  I  thought,  be  seen  else- 


RETURN  TO  NEW  SOUTH  WALES.  207 

where,  or  at  any  other  time.  It  was  a  dream-picture.  The  pale 
empress  of  night,  and  queen  of  silence  and  sleep,  walked  before  her 
palace  on  the  spangled  firmanent  of  the  skies,  and  looked  down  upon 
the  fairy  scene,  and  by  her  softened  light  added  beauty  to  the  picture. 
Tall  ships  were  lying  at  anchor  on  the  deep  and  placid  waters  of  the 
land-locked  harbor.  The  quiet  was  profound;  but  at  intervals  the 
silence  was  broken  by  the  iron  tongues  and  brazen  mouths  of  a  hun- 
dred bells  chiming  the  hour  of  night.  Every  vessel  had  a  bell  and  a 
watchman,  who  walked  the  deck  and  chimed  the  hour,  and  called  out, 
"All's  well."  These  sounds  broke  the  stillness  of  the  night  a  moment, 
and  then  the  pulse  of  life  seemed  again  to  stand  still.  The  beautiful 
islands  that  stud  the  harbor  lay  gleaming  in  the  moonlight. 

Since  Great  Britain  had  ceased  to  pour  her  surplus  criminals  on  the 
shores  of  New  South  Wales,  the  hospital  had  undergone  a  great 
change.  It  was  freshly  fitted  up  with  special  care  for  the  comfort  of 
respectable  free  people.  Sick  strangers  arriving  had  a  ward  prepared 
for  them.  As  I  walked  through  the  clean,  cheerful,  well-ventilated 
wards,  and  saw  the  brisk,  obliging  nurses  attentive  to  their  duties,  my 
heart  was  glad.  I  saw  nothing  of  the  dark,  lonesome,  lazar  house, 
where  lay  all  sorts  of  diseased  patients,  which  I  had  seen  when  I  lay  on 
the  floor  of  the  dark  prison-like  ward,  waiting  till  a  patient  should  die 
and  be  tumbled  into  a  coffin  ere  I  could  be  tumbled  on  to  her  bed. 
In  gratitude  to  "Him  who  preserveth  the  stranger,  and  who  relieveth 
the  fatherless,"  I  subscribed  as  liberally  as  my  income  would  allow 
toward  this  institution',  hoping  that  no  other  stranger  or  orphan  would 
ever  be  situated  as  I  had  been. 

I  paid  my  former  guardians  a  visit.  Mr.  Holmes  had  built  a  beauti- 
ful residence  and  had  it  well  furnished.  They  had  a  beautiful  garden, 
and  an  orchard  filled  with  all  kinds  of  fruit-trees.  They  had  purchased 
improved  land,  and  still  further  improved  it.     We  sat  down  in  one  of 

the  pretty  arbors  and  ate  of  the  luscious  fruits.     Mrs.  H told  me 

that  she  now,  after  some  privation,  had  everything  her  heart  desired ; 
that  now  she  was  prepared  to  live  and  enjoy  life.  In  the  midst  of  life 
we   are  in   death.      In  three  weeks  from  my  visit  she  was  in  her 

grave.     Poor,  dear   Mrs.  H ,  how  sudden  her  exit  from  all  that 

her  heart  held  dear.     Mr.  H came  to  me  to  tell  me  what  her  last 

wishes  were.  She  wished  that  I  would  take  her  place,  enjoy  her 
home,  and  be  a  mother  to  her  children,  and  he  had  come  for  me  if  I 
would  go;  but  I  felt  constrained  to  remain  where  I  was.  He  said 
that  his  wife  had  planned  for  our  future  well-being,  and  he  wished  to 


2oS  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

carry  out  her  plans  to  the  letter.  I  told  him  quietly,  but  emphatically, 
so  far  as  I  was  concerned  it  could  not  be,  and  no  more  was  said. 

How  soon,  I  thought,  even  good  men  try  to  forget  their  best  friend. 
No  sooner  is  one  friend  and  companion  hidden  out  of  sight,  than 
another  is  sought  for  to  replace  the  one  that  has  gone, 

I  asked  my  sister  who  it  was  reclining  on  her  parlor  sofa  one  day. 

She  said  it  was  Captain  H.  Van  S ,  who  was  wrecked  in  the  Indian 

Ocean;  had  been  picked  up  by  her  husband,  and  was  now  their  guest. 
I  had  deep  sympathy  for  the  shipwrecked  stranger,  and  told  her  to  be 
kind  to  him.  He  is  in  a  foreign  land,  far  from  all  he  loves;  he  may 
have  a  mother,  or  a  sister,  who  may  bless  you  who  have  been  kind  to 
him  in  the  land  of  strangers,  and  you  will  never  regret  it.  Next  Sun- 
day I  dined  at  my  sister's  after  church   services,  and   Captain  Van 

S was  introduced  to  me.     He  had  a  most  pleasing  accent,  though 

foreign;  he  spoke  the  English  well;  he  looked  a  foreigner;  his  dress 
was  elegant,  rich  and  sailor-like.  He  was  like  a  young  Saxon  king, 
with  his  golden,  wavy  hair  arranged  over  a  broad,  white  brow;  the  rest 
of  his  face  was  bronzed.  His  eyes  were  of  the  deepest  blue,  where 
truth  and  sincerity  seemed  to  shine.  He  spoke  little,  but  his  voice 
was  pleasant  to  listen  to.  He  sat  opposite  to  me  at  table,  and  I 
felt  his  gaze  very  often  fastened  on  me,  I  felt  a  little  confused,  and 
talked  more  than  was  my  wont  to  cover  my  slight  embarrassment. 
When  I  was  leaving  to  go  home,  he  asked  me  if  he  might  have  the 
pleasure  of  walking  home  with  me. 

"As  you  are  a  stranger,"  I  said,  "I  have  no  objections  to  you  walk- 
ing with  me  part  of  the  way,  as  there  is  some  beautiful  scenery 
around  the  shores  of  the  bay,  under  the  oaks  and  acacias." 

We  parted  at  a  turnstile.     I  said,  laughingly : 

"Thus  far,  and  no  farther,  may  you  come." 

I  passed  through,  but  he  stood  still,  as  if  he  had  something  to  say, 
and  hesitated.  I  said  good-bye,  and  left  him  standing.  As  I  went  up 
the  hill  on  the  narrow,  winding  pathway,  I  could  still  see  him  standing, 
and  when  I  entered  the  lower  garden  gate  of  the  castle,  he  was  still 
where  I  left  him.  The  rays  of  the  western  sun  fell  full  upon  his  stately 
form,  and,  as  seen  through  the  trees,  he  looked  like  a  sylvan  deity. 
On  the  Sunday  following,  I  wound  my  way  down  to  the  turnstile,  on 

my  way  to  church,  and  there  stood  H.  Van  S on  the  very  spot  I 

had  left  him  a  week  before.  There  was  something  ludicrous  to  me  in 
the  coincidence.  I  was  greatly  amused;  I  almost  laughed  outright. 
When  our  greetings  were  over,  he  asked  me,  in  rather  a  grave  tone> 


RETURN  TO  NEW  SOUTH  WALES.  209 

what  SO  amused  me.  Like  the  Irishman,  I  answered  him  one  question 
by  asking  him  another,  which  was: 

"Have  you  been  standing  on  that  spot  since  I  left  you  there  last 
week?" 

"No,"  he  said,  and  turned  his  great  speaking  eyes  on  my  face,  and 
looked  very  steadily  at  me  for  some  time.  He  seemed  trying  to  read 
my  countenance.  Mirth  ruled  the  expression  for  the  moment.  "Your 
mother,"  he  said,  "gave  me  permission  to  come  and  meet  you  as  you 
came  to  church;  but  you  said  thus  far  I  could  come  and  no  farther,  so 
here  I  waited  for  you.     I  hope  you  forgive,  if  I  have  offended." 

"I  take  no  offense,"  I  said,  "when  my  wishes  are  respected." 

I  had  no  inclination  now  to  laugh,  he  looked  so  grave  and  stately. 
He  asked  me  if  I  would  take  a  sail  down  the  harbor  in  a  boat;  the  day 
was  fine;  he  would  have  great  pleasure  in  my  company. 

"No,  I  can  not  go,"  I  said. 

He  did  not  understand  why  I  could  not  go  with  him,  and  he  said : 

"I  am  a  stranger  to  you,  but  you  can  take  your  mother  with  you. 
I  shall  not  be  long  in  the  colony,  and  I  wish  to  be  as  much  with  you 
as  possible,  if  you  will  allow  me  so  great  happiness."    ' 

"I  like  to  make  people  happy,"  I  said,  "and  if  you  wish  to  be  in 
my  company  to-day,  come  with  me  to  church,  and  Mr.  Saunders  will 
do  you  good." 

"Oh,  I  have  not  been  in  church  since  I  was  a  boy,  eleven  years 
since.  My  idolized  mother  and  sister  took  me  there.  I  feel  ashamed 
to  say  it,  but  I  fear  I  would  not  know  how  to  behave  myself  in  church, 
were  I  to  go." 

"All  you  will  have  to  do  is  to  sit  still  and  listen." 

He  gave  up  the  boat  excursion,  and  came  to  church,  and  Mr.  Saun- 
ders had  not  a  more  attentive  listener  that  day  than  the  handsome 
foreigner.    Once  I  saw  tears  in  his  eyes.     On  leaving  church,  he  said : 

"You  are  the  only  one  who  has  ever  reminded  me  of  home,  and 
loved  ones  there.  I  have  a  beloved  sister,  whom  you  resemble  in  char- 
acter, if  not  in  person." 

His  heart  seemed  full  while  talking  of  his  sister.  On  the  hearts  of 
some  men,  the  power  of  female  beauty,  either  of  mind  or  body,  is 
utterly  despotic,  not  for  an  hour,  or  a  day,  but  for  a  lifetime.  In  the 
souls  of  some  men, the  ideal  of  all  grace  and  beauty,  of  all  purity  and 

loveliness,  is  a  woman.    Such  a  man  was  H.  Van  S ,    He  said,  the 

first  time  he  heard  me  speak,  he  was  carried  back  to  the  low,  soft, 
sweet  music  of  his  cradle  hymn.  I  was  a  memory  of  a  gentle  voice 
14 


2IO  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

lulling  him  to  sleep,  and  soothing  his  childhood's  sufferings  with  holy 
accents.  All  the  disappointments  of  life  could  not  destroy  it;  all  the 
contact  with  unwomanly  women  did  not  eradicate  it.  It  clung  to  his 
heart  through  a  changeful  life.  Others  had  made  a  pleasing  impression 
on  his  mind,  and  inspired  him  to  some  self-sacrificing;  but  since  the 
day  he  first  heard  my  voice,  saying,  be  kind  to  the  stranger,  he  may 
have  a  mother,  or  a  sister,  or  both,  who  love  him,  he  said: 

"Your  words  thrilled  me,  and  I  loved  the  speaker  ere  I  saw  her 
face.  The  words  I  would  speak  to  you,  to  tell  you  how  I  love  you, 
flutter  in  my  throat,  and  make  me  a  child.  I  am  your  willing,  devoted 
slave  from  this  day  to  all  eternity.  I  love  you  with  a  love  surpassing 
what  I  ever  felt  before  for  mortal.      Will  you  be  my  wife?" 

I  was  astonished,  electrified,  by  this  burst  of  passionate  love  from  the 

dignified  H.  Van  S .     I  was  so  taken  by  surprise  that  I  could  not 

speak;  when  I  found  utterance,  I  said  to  him: 

' '  I  am  not  a  widow,  though  you  may  have  been  told  so,  my  husband 
is  alive,"  and  the  words  nearly  choked  me. 

"The  laws  of  your  land  will  allow  you  to  marry  in  a  few  years.  I 
will  wait  five,  seven,  or  even  twenty  years  for  you,  if  you  will  promise 
to  be  mine." 

' '  The  laws  of  man  may  allow  me  to  marry,  but  I  have  a  higher  law 
than  that  of  man  to  obey.  Hear  what  God's  law  says:  'The  woman 
who  has  a  husband  is  bound  by  the  law  to  her  husband  as  lohg  as  he 
liveth ;  but  if  the  husband  be  dead,  she  is  loosed  from  the  law  of  her 
husband.'    Do  not  ask  me  to  break  the  law  of  God,  if  you  respect  me." 

"A  new  life  has  taken  possession  of  me,  and  I  can  not  live  without 
you,  or  a  hope  to  have  you  some  day.  My  heart  is  full,  full  to  painful 
oppression,  in  this  new  feeling.  Nothing  has  power  to  influence  me 
now,  that  could  have  wielded  an  influence  before.  You  are  the  only 
one  who  has  ever  been  able  to  fill  my  heart;  you  are  a  priceless  treas- 
ure.    Do  not  say  that  my  deep,  devoted  love  is  all  in  vain." 

"All  in  vain,"  I  ejaculated. 

"O  my  G — ,  I  love  you  above  all  created  beings;  I  ask  your  love, 
I  tremble  for  your  answer.  If  you  refuse  me,  and  give  me  no  hope 
for  the  future,  I  am  lost,  soul  and  body.     I  shall"- . 

His  voice  became  husky  as  he  spoke  the  last  words.  We  reached 
the  turnstile,  the  parting  place.  He  held  my  hand  tight  aS  he  handed 
me  through,  and  begged  me  to  give  him  hope,  that  some  day  he  might 
call  me  his.  I  said  I  had  no  power  to  dispose  of  myself;  I  belonged 
to  another — 


RETURN  TO  NEW  SOUTH  WALES.  211 

"And  more,  I  will  say,  as  you  do  not  regard  my  feelings  or  princi- 
ples, henceforth  we  meet  no  more.  I  dare  not  listen  to  such  words 
of  passion  from  any  man.'' 

We  parted  as  usual,  but  in  what  a  turmoil  were  my  feelings.  I 
bounded  up  the  hill,  in  at  the  garden  gate,  and  away  to  my  little  retreat 
under  the  Norfolk  pine,  and  there  I  sat  a  long  time  trying  to  analyze 
my  feelings.  They  were  sadly  confused;  pain,  pleasure,  and  discon- 
tent at  my  unhappy  fate,  were  each  asserting  itself.  I  felt  that  life 
had  no  joy  for  me,  no  happiness.  Other  young  people  could  enjoy 
life  but  my  young  life  was  blighted.  I  was  entirely  shut  out  from  all 
enjoyment  in  life.  "Why  have  I  been  born  to  suffer?"  I  exclaimed. 
When  my  fit  of  rebellious  discontent  was  over,  I  walked  quietly  to  the 
house.  When  I  looked  around,  and  saw  with  what  comfort  and  secur- 
ity I  was  surrounded,  I  asked  God  to  pity  me,  and  forgive  my  rebel- 
lion.    On  going  to  church  next  Sunday,  I  was  troubled  to  see  H.  Van 

S walking  on  the  beach  near  the  turnstile.     I  greeted  him  coldly; 

he  noticed  the  coldness,  and  said: 

"Fear  not,  I  have  no  intention  to  offend  you  again,  or  wound  your 
feelings.  I  come  to  say  farewell ;  I  leave  the  colony  in  a  few  days, 
but  my  heart  carries  your  image  in  it." 

I  was  silent;  I  had  nothing  to  say.  He  looked  pale  and  haggard. 
He  had  been  ill,  and  I  felt  sorry  for  him,  but  could  not  say  so.  He 
hoped  I  would  forgive  him;  as  we  might  never  meet  again,  he  wished 
our  parting  to  be  friendly.  I  told  him  I  forgave  him,  as  he  was  so  soon 
to  leave  the  country.  I  wished  him  well,  and  hoped  he  would  be 
happy.  A  few  days  later  I  received  a  farewell  gift,  and  a  letter,  which 
breathed  the  most  passionate,  devoted  love  that  man  could  pen  to 

woman.     H.  Van  S was  far  out  at  sea  ere  I  received  his  gift, 

otherwise  it  would  have  been  returned.  I  burned  the  letter  with  its 
burning  words.     A  note  from  my  mother  read  thus:    "Why  did  you 

stand  in  your  own  light?    H.  Van  S is  all  that  you  can  wish.    He 

is  young,  handsome,  strong  and  true;  he  is  rich,  and  loves  you  to  dis- 
traction. Why  did  you  not  give  the  poor  man  some  encouragement 
for  the  future,  if  not  for  the  present?  You  have  made  him  perfectly 
miserable." 

Had  I  done  as  my  mother  counseled,  I  might  have  reproached 
myself  for  the  "poor  man's  misery."  This  I  had  not  done,  and  little 
did  my  mother  think  of  the  misery  she  was  giving  me  by  her  reproaches. 
A  stranger  and  a  strong  man  had  all  her  .sympathy,  while  her  own 
child,  a  poor,  weak  woman,  who  needed  all  the  sympathy  that  a 


212  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

mother's  heart  could  give,  was  entirely  shut  out  of  that  heart.  What 
I  suffered  none  knew.  In  the  married  state,  a  woman  has  dignity, 
security  and  respect  to  attend  her;  but  a  heavy  cloud,  like  a  pall, 
hangs  over  the  path  of  the  separated.  She  has  no  home  cares,  no 
home  occupations,  and  the  world  can  not  sympathize  in  her  injuries. 
I  often  prayed  that  my  heart  would  be  entirely  weaned  from  the  world, 
and  when  I  thought  I  was  becoming  a  little  more  heavenly-minded,  a 
wave  of  temptation  would  cross  my  breast.  I  had  severe  struggles  in 
my  heart  at  this  time.  Outwardly,  all  was  passing  as  a  peaceful 
dream.  I  was  cut  off  from  all  domestic  happiness,  and  down  in  the 
hidden  chambers  of  the  heart  many  a  fierce  battle  was  fought,  unseen 
by  the  eye  of  mortal;  but  God  saw,  and  he  gave  me  the  needed 
strength. 

Weeks  and  months  passed  on,  and  I  was  following  the  even  tenor 
of  my  way,  when  my  sister  called  to  see  me  one  day,  and  asked  me 
to  walk  with  her  on  her  way  home,  as  she  could  not  stay  long  with 
me.  I  walked  down  to  the  beach  with  her,  where  we  met  her  hus- 
band, which  was  a  pleasant  surprise  to  me.  We  three  walked  on  till 
we  reached  a  grove  of  acacia,  where  was  a  table-cloth  spread  on  the 
ground. 

"Oh!"  I  said,  "here  in  the  acacia  grove  is  a  picnic  party!" 

"Yes,"  said  my  mother,  as  she  rose  from  the  ground,  and  "I  in- 
vite you  to  partake  of  our  good  cheer." 

Then  she  introduced  me  to  a  strange  gentleman  of  morose  aspect, 
who  was  of  their  party.  All  this  was  so  unexpected  the  novelty 
pleased  me.  Before  I  sat  down,  my  mother  threw  around  my  shoul- 
ders a  beautiful  Canton  crape  shawl. 

"Oh,  how  beautiful;  whose  is  this?"  I  exclaimed. 

"Yours,"  said  a  voice  that  startled  me. 

I  looked  round,  and  there  stood  H.  Van  S .     I  did  not  speak. 

He  drew  near,  and  asked  in  a  low  tone  if  I  would  accept  of  a  broth- 
er's gift. 

"I  bought  it  for  you  at  Canton,  and  I  purposed  sending  it  to  you, 
but  your  mother  planned  this  party,  and  invited  me  to  meet  you  here 
and  present  you  this." 

I  did  not  stay  long.  H.  Van  S wished  to  escort  me  to  the  turn- 
stile, but  I  refused  all  company,  and  so  walked  home  alone.  He  had 
returned  to  the  colony,  because,  as  he  said  to  my  mother,  he  could 
not  stay  away  from  where  I  was,  but  he  did  not  wish  to  let  me  know 
of  his  return,  as  he  did  not  wish  to  offend  me,  or  hurt  my  feelings  in 


RETURN  TO  NEW  SOUTH  WALES.  213 

any  way.  My  mother,  not  having  the  same  tender  regard  for  my 
feehngs,  planned  the  picnic  to  bring  us  together.     I  saw  very  clearly 

that  all  were  sympathizers  in  H.  Van  S 's  case.     He  met  me  next 

Sunday  without  asking  my  permission;  this  freedom  I  felt  like  resent- 
ing. I  told  him  I  preferred  to  walk  alone.  He  said  he  would  not 
have  taken  the  liberty  to  intrude  on  my  solitary  walk,  but  that  my 
mother  had  sent  him  to  meet  me.     And  said  he : 

"I  was  only  too  happy  to  come." 

The  tone,  and  the  look  that  accompanied  the  words,  made  me  re- 
solve to  speak  to  him  freely,  and  try  to  enlist  his  honor,  if  I  could  not 
control  his  feelings. 

"Mr.  Van  S ,  my  mother  is  a  great  friend  of  yours,  and  gives 

you  every  encouragement  to  address  me ;  more  than  that,  she  pleads 
your  cause  with  me.  She  is  exceedingly  desirous  that  I  shall  marry. 
She  sees  no  wrong  in  it,  and  she  wishes  me  to  marry  you,"  I  said. 

"Here  his  whole  countenance  lit  up  with  a  joyous  expression,  and 
he  said  : 

"Oh,  will  you  be  mine?" 

"Hush,"  I  said,  "till  I  finish  what  I  have  to  say.     Captain  W 

and  my  sister  favor  your  suit,  all  are  your  friends;  not  one  friend  have 
I.  They  say  you  are  unhappy,  that  I  have  made  you  so;  they  are  all 
angry  with  me  because  I  do  not  encourage  you,  by  making  you  a 
promise  that  would  stain  my  soul  with  sin.  Now  I  turn  to  you  and 
ask  you,  on  the  honor  of  a  gentleman,  if  you  will  be  my  friend  ?" 

"I  am  yours  ever,  even  unto  death,"  exclaimed  the  impetuous, 
passionate  man. 

' '  Well,  if  you  have  (I  speak  plainly)  one  spark  of  generous,  genu- 
ine love  for  me,  you  will  not  ask  me  to  be  your  wife,  or  ask  a  promise 
to  that  effect,  for  I  tell  you,  as  I  have  told  you  before,  that  I  can  not 
comply  and  be  guiltless.  It  were  better  had  we  never  met,  as  we 
can  never  be  anything  to  each  other  but  what  we  are  now.  Once 
more  I  ask,  will  you,  on  the  honor  of  a  man,  a  sailor,  be  my  friend, 
and  leave  the  colony,  and  never  seek  to  see  me  again?  Respect  my 
feelings  under  the  unhappy  circumstances  in  which  I  am  placed. 
Respect  my  scruples,  and  do  not  plead  a  devoted  love  that  would 
destroy  me  only  to  gratify  your  selfish  desires.  Again  I  ask,  will  you 
be  my  friend  and  leave  the  colony?" 

"No,"  he  said;  "I  will  not  leave  the  colony  at  this  time.  The 
love  I  have  for  you  is  no  fleeting  feeling,  nor  can  I  command  it  away. 
It  is  like  a  lava  flood  boiling  in  my  breast;  but  I  will  .show  you  that 


214  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

the  fire  that  consumes  i"ne  shall  never  injure  you.  Will  you  give  me 
the  privilege  to  call  you  sister?" 

"Only  on  one  condition," — 

Before  I  could  say  more,  he  rejoined,  "I  will  comply." 

I  had  thought  that  love  in  man  was  something  apart  from  himself, 

which  travel  would  quench  or  strangle.     H tried  to  conceal  his 

unhappiness;  he  was  generous  and  gentle  to  me  in  every  way;  he 
attended  church  regularly  with  me.  I  made  him  a  present  of  an  English 
Bible,  and  asked  him  to  read  it,  which  he  promised  to  do.  Every 
time  I  saw  him,  he  seemed  more  unhappy;  but  oh,  how  kind  and 
considerate  of  me.  His  silent  suffering  was  more  dangerous  to  my 
peace  than  his  passionate  outbursts  had  been.  I  felt  a  deep  pity,  but 
dared  not  to  express  it.  He  told  me.  one  day  that  he  was  ill  and  must 
take  a  voyage  for  his  health.  I  did  not  dissuade  him.  I  was  glad  for 
his  sake  that  he  was  going,  but  for  myself  I  felt  that  I  would  miss  my 
stately  escort,  my  kind,  considerate  friend  and  brother.  Had  he  loved 
me  less,  I  should  have  been  proud  of  his  friendship.  I  felt  that  I  was 
a  woman  rich  in  sorrow,  to  whom  love  would  have  been  precious  had 
it  not  been  sinful.     Love  in  this  life  is  not  for  me.     The  tempter  said: 

"You  ought  to  marry  H.  Van  S and  make  him  happy.     The 

law  will  allow  it,  and  you  could  be  more  useful  and  happy  in  an  en- 
larged sphere." 

The  arch  tempter  knew  where  my  armor  was  weakest,  and  tried  his 
strength  against  it.  My  eyes  were  often  dim  with  tears.  Sorrow 
swept  over  the  chords  of  my  heart  and  brought  forth  sad,  wailing 
sounds.     I  asked  myself, 

"Why  this  sadness?" 

I  could  not  reproach  myself  for  anything  I  had  said  or  done.  I 
had  subdued  my  impulses  in  obedience  to  principle.  I  had  sacrificed 
a  present  for  a  future  good.  My  self- approving  works  did  not  add  to 
my  happiness'  or  peace  of  mind.  ' '  Lord,  I  have  foes  without  and 
within,  the  world,  the  flesh  and  my  own  heart;  help  me  to  subdue 
them,  and  keep  me  by  thy  word." 

Once  more  after  a  short  voyage  my  sailor  brother  returned.  I  be- 
lieve I  felt  glad  to  see  him ;  yet  a  fear  was  mingled  with  the  feeling. 
He  appeared  cheerful  and  happy,  and  in  good  health,  for  which  I  felt 
thankful.  I  did  hope  he  was  free  from  his  infatuation.  Vain  hope, 
the  calm  only  precluded  a  storm.  A  young  lady  friend  of  my  moth- 
er was  to  be  married.  I  was  invited,  and  came  to  town  to  dress  at  my 
sister's.      As  I  came  to  the  turnstile,  there  stood  the  figure  I  began  to 


RETURN  TO  NEW  SOUTH  -WALES.  215 

think  was  part  of  the  scene,  and  ought  to  be  there.  He  was  in  high 
spirits,  and  had  I  not  known  that  he  drank  neither  wine  nor  strong 
drink,  I  should  have  thought  he  had  been  imbibing,  so  full  of  hilarity 
was  he.  His  nature  was  fiery  enough  without  fire-water.  I  had  used 
my  influence  with  him  to  give  up  drinking  and  using  tobacco  in  any 
form,  and  attend  church  with  me.  I  greatly  desired  to  see  him  con- 
verted to  Christianity,  and  I  thought  he  was  in  a  fair  way  to  become 
a  Christian.  His  widowed  mother  and  only  sister  were  truly  pious 
ladies  of  a  very  superior  order,  according  to  the  showing  of  the  affec- 
tionate son  and  brother.  I  almost  forgot  that  he  was  not  my  brother 
in  reahty,  when  he  would  call  me  sister.  His  brotherly  friendship  was 
very  pleasant  to  me.  I  was  putting  the  last  touch  to  my  mother's 
headgear ;   H was  sitting  near  conversing  pleasantly. 

"My  Eliza,  let  me  call  you  mine,"  burst  from  his  lips  in  uncon- 
trollable passion. 

I  was  startled  and  silenced  at  the  same  time. 

"Speak  to  me,  adored  one;  your  voice  thrills  my  very  soul.  The 
love  I  have  for  you  is  unquenchable;  it  is  deep,  devoted  and  ever- 
lasting. I  have  fled  from  you  hopelessly.  I  have  tried  to  shun  you. 
I  have  sought  refuge  on  the  dangerous  deep.  I  have  tried  to  forget 
you;  but  love's  charm  that  binds  me  to  you  has  drawn  your  willing 
captive  back,  often  to  grief  and  disappointment.  Yet,  while  near 
you,  my  soul  is  filled  with  joy.  I  feel  that  I  can  not  live  without  you. 
You  are  queen  of  my  heart,  every  pulse  of  which  beats  for  you,  and 
you  alone." 

I  tried  to  speak,  but  he  cried  out  in  a  perfect  tempest  of  passion  : 

"  Hear  me,  and  save  me,  or  I  die.  Be  mine,  my  wife,  my  all,  and 
you  shall  live  like  a  queen.  I  shall  surround  you  with  wealth  such  as 
you  never  dreamed  of.  Marry  me  and  come  to  Rotterdam,  where 
my  mother  and  sister  will  give  you  a  royal  welcome.  Or  come  to 
Batavia,  where  you  shall  be  my  worshiped  idol,  and  reign  supreme. 
My  love  is  deep  and  strong;  absence  can  not  abate  it.  I  have  tried 
it." 

He  took  my  hand  and  fell  on  his  knees  before  me;  great  tears  fell 
from  his  eyes  on  my  hand  as  he  bent  over  it,  and  said: 

"Give  me  this,"  in  a  voice  tremulous  with  emotion. 

I  said,  as  I  drew  my  hand  from  his:  "For  pity's  sake  do  not  kneel 
to  me.     I  tell  you  again  that  my  hand  is  not  mine  to  give  you." 

When  I  said  this,  he  raised  his  head,  and  a  glance  of  fire  shot  from 
his  eyes  that  made  me  quake.     His  passionate  outburst  made  me 


2  1 0  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

tremble.  I  told  him  I  was  only  a  mortal,  not  to  kneel  to  me,  for  I 
could  not  help  him,  but  to  kneel  to  God,  and  ask  for  help  to  overcome 
his  fatal  human  passion,  that  was  destroying  my  peace  as  well  as  his, 
not  that  I  loved  him,  for  that  I, dared  not  do,  but  it  made  me  unhappy 
to  see  others  suffer." 

"Your  self-control  has  gained  my  esteem,  but  you  will  lose  it  by 
giving  way  to  such  outbursts  of  passion;  for  in  these  you  do  not  con- 
sider the  pain  you  inflict  upon  me,  and  I  may  not  expose  myself  to 
such  scenes  as  this." 

He  rose,  and  walked  the  floor  in  great  perturbation  for  some  time; 
then  he  stood  before  me,  and  asked : 

"Eliza,  were  you  free,  could  you  love  me?  could  you  marry  me?" 

"H ,  I  am  not  free,  I  can  not  answer  these  questions;  do  not 

press  them  on  me.  I  have  already  told  you,  that  a  wife  is  bound  by 
the  law  of  her  husband  as  long  as  he  lives;  but  if  cruelty  drives  her 
from  the  protection  of  her  husband  and  her  home,  the  Bible  says: 
'But,  and  if  she  depart,  let  her  remain  unmarried.'  This  is  not  only 
my  intention,  but  my  duty,  and  unalterable  determination." 

' '  And  that  man,  for  his  cruelty  to  you,  shall  die  by  my  hand,  or  I 
shall  die  by  his;  we  shall  not  both  live.  I  shall  go  to  him,  and  chal- 
lenge him  to  mortal  combat;  one  of  us  must  die.  If  I  live,  I  shall 
come  back,  and  carry  you  away  to  my  home,  where  you  shall  never 
know  a  sorrow.     You  shall  be  all  my  own,  my  darling." 

Love  to  this  man's  impassioned  soul  was  not,  as  with  other  men,  a 
part  of  his  existence,  but  the  whole,  the  very  life-breath  of  his  heart. 
His  words  roused  me,  and  with  mingled  feelings  of  pity,  fear  and  anger, 
I  laid  my  hand  on  his  arm,  and  said  solemnly: 

"  H ,  we  must  part,  never,  never  more  to  meet  on  earth.    Think 

you,  were  you  to  imbrue  your  hand  in  the  blood  of  another,  and  that 

other  my I  can  not  say  the  word;  but  think  you  I  would  marry 

a  murderer?  I  thought  you  knew  better;  I  thought  you  had  respect 
for  my  feelings;  I  thought  I  had  a  friend  in  you;  I  thought  I  had  al- 
most found  a  brother.  I  was  gaining  confidence  in  your  strength  of 
character,  and  beginning  to  have  pleasure  in  your  society.  The  pleas- 
ure has  been  short  lived;  the  pain  you  have  inflicted  will  be  more  last- 
ing. I  am  fearfully  punished  for  allowing  myself  to  have  pleasure  in 
your  company.  I  might  have  known  it  was  no  brother's  heart  you 
offered  me,  when  you  pleaded  for  the  privilege  to  call  me  sister.  I  do 
not  blame  you,  I  take  all  the  blame  on  myself;  but  we  meet  not  again." 
One  of  his  officers  called  to  see  him  on  business.     I  was  glad  to  make 


RETURN  TO  NEW  SOUTH  WALES.  217 

my  escape.  My  mother  asked  me  what  made  me  look  so  pale.  I  told 
her  I  was  going  home,  and  not  to  the  wedding.     This  she  positively 

forbade  me  doing.     H ,  at  the  party,  astonished  me  by  showing  a 

new  phase  of  character.  He  was  not  only  the  handsomest,  but  the 
most  brilliant,  man  at  the  party.  His  conversation  was  full  of  sparkle 
and  humor;  he  charmed  everyone.     The  bride  whispered  to  me : 

"What  a  splended  man  your  friend  is." 

I  smiled. 
She  said:   "You  do  not  seem  to  appreciate  his  powers  to  please. 
He  is  stealing  all  the  hearts  of  the  young  ladies,  and  of  the  gentlemen 
too.     All  are  delighted  with  hmi;  he  is  very  handsome." 

"Yes,  he  is,"  I  said. 

At  supper  a  toast  was  to  be  drunk  to  the  ladies.    I  looked  at  H , 

whose  gaze  was  fastened  on  me  with  an  intensity  that  I  could  ill  brook. 
He  raised  the  goblet  to  his  lips;  he  drank  a  deep  draught,  keeping  his 
eyes  fixed  on  me  the  whole  time.  I  returned  the  steady  gaze  till  he 
laid  the  goblet  down.  Dancing  began ;  he  asked  me  to  dance.  I  told 
him  I  did  not  dance;  he  asked  me  if  I  refused  to  dance  because  I  was 
angry  with  him. 

"Oh,  no,  Mr.  H ,  I  am  not  angry  with  you,  nor  do  you  influ- 
ence my  actions  in  any  way." 

Others  were  pleased  to  dance  with  the  handsome  foreigner.     I  told 

my  mother  I  wished  to  go  home  unobserved  by  H ,  as  I  did  not 

wish  to  speak  to  him.  I  put  on  my  hat  and  cloak,  and  slipped  out  with 
the  bridegroom  to  the  carriage,  and  there  stood  H ,  holding  the  car- 
riage door  open  for  me,  and  my  mother  seated  on  the  front  seat.  I 
asked  her  to  sit  by  me,  but  she  paid  no  heed.  My  mother,  on  leaving, 
had  signaled  H that  I  was  going,  and  he  was  ready. 

"Oh,  mother!"  I  sighed,  as  H jumped  into  the  carriage  and 

sat  down  beside  me. 

We  had  not  gone  far,  when,  full  of  his  all-absorbing  theme,  he  burst 
forth  in  most  impassioned  eloquence,  pleading  for  God's  sake,  for  love's 
sake,  if  there  was  love  on  earth,  not  to  let  him  love  in  vain.  My 
mother's  presence  did  not  check  the  burning  torrent.  I  well  knew  that 
wine  made  his  words  flow  faster  than  usual,  and  I  did  not  answer  a 
word.     He  caught  me  in  his  arms,  and  said: 

"Let  me  clasp  you  to  my  throbbing  heart  this  once.  This  throbbing 
is  for  you;  feel  it,  and  till  this  poor  heart  ceases  to  beat,  you  are  its 
life,  and  shall  never  be  dislodged." 


2lS  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

I  let  him  speak  on,  but  answered  him  not.  When  I  reached  the  cas- 
tle gate,  I  asked  H '-  to  let  me  out;  he  helped  me  to  alight. 

"Thank  you,"  I  said,  and  passed  in,  but  not  before  I  heard  a  stifled 
groan,  and  the  carriage  drove  off. 

My  own  griefs  lay  heavy  on  my  heart,  and  this  man's  sorrow  did 
but  augment  them.  I  resolved  that  the  deep,  blue  sea  must  lie  be- 
tween us.  When  I  reached  my  room,  I  sighed:  "Oh,  my  poor,  weary, 
care-haunted  heart."  I  asked  God  to  pity  me,  and  give  me  strength 
to  carry  out  my  firm  resolve.  I  was  not  in  rebellious  humor;  I  was 
low  at  my  Savior's  feet. ,  I  felt  strong,  when  I  thought  of  the  dreadful 
threat  of  a  duel  to  be  fought.  I  lay  down  to  dream  of  bitter  hate  and 
cruel  wrong  driving  me  from  one  colony,  and  the  passionate  love  of 
this  man  driving  me  from  another  colony;  for  I  had  resolved  to  leave 
the  colony  if  H did  not. 

I  awoke,  crying  out,  "Oh,  why  was  I  born?  why  have  I  so  keen  a 
sense  of  misery?  I  can  not  be  happy  myself,  nor  can  I  make  others 
happy."  "Happy  is  the  man  whom  God  correcteth;  therefore,  des- 
pise not  the  chastenings  of  the  Almighty.  For  he  maketh  sore,  and 
he  bindeth  up;  he  woundeth,  and  his  hands  make  whole.  He  shall 
deliver  thee  in  six  troubles  yea,  in  seven  there  shall  no  evil  touch 
thee."     (Job  V.  17.)     How  full  of  comfort  is  the  word  of  God. 

Next  day  my  mother  came  to  see  me.    She  said  H was  in  great 

trouble;  he  thought  he  had  offended  me,  and  he  wished  to  see  me  to 
beg  my  forgiveness.  I  told  her  to  tell  him  that  he  had  not  offended 
me,  and  I  had  forgiven  him  everything,  so  that  he  need  not  wish  to 
see  me  on  his  own  account,  but  that  I  wished  to  see  him  on  my  account. 

I  told  my  mother  that  I  thought  H.  Van  S 's  welfare  was  more 

dear  to  her  heart  than  mine.  I  believed  that  she  had  held  out  hopes 
to  him  concerning  me,  which,  had  they  been  realized,  would  have  de- 
stroyed my  prospects  for  eternity. 

"And  this,  my  mother,  you  were  willing  to  sacrifice — for  what? 
But  it  has  come  to  an  end,  for  he  or  I  must  leave  the  colony." 

"Ha!  ha!     Is  the  colony  not  large  enough  for  you  both?" 

"Yes;  quite  large  enough,  but  the  fever  of  excitement  I  have  been 
living  in  lately  is  unendurable.  My  peace  of  mind  is  dear  to  myself, 
if  not  to  you.  You  do  not  understand  my  feelings ;  you  do  not  ap- 
preciate my  principles.     If  you  have  come  to  me  to  plead  for  your 

son,  as  you  call  H.  Van  S ,  it  is  to  no  purpose.     My  course  is 

resolved  on;  I  shall  not  change.  You  do  not  know  me,  and  I  have 
had  enough  of  him.     I  shall  see  him  once  more;  I  have  somewhat  to 


RETURN  TO  NEW  SOUTH  WALES.  219 

say  to  him."  We  met.  He  was  dreadfully  excited;  I  was  perfectly 
calm.  He  begged  me  not  to  cast  him  off  forever;  he  would  never 
offend  again,  in  word  or  deed. 

"I  shall  wait  seven,  fourteen,  twenty  years  for  you,  if  you  will  give 
the  shadow  of  a  hope  that  you  will  be  mine  in  the  end.  Meantime, 
only  let  me  wait  on  you  sometimes." 

' '  I  shall  not  allow  you  to  wait  on  me,  and  if  you  choose  to  wait  for 
me,  any  number  of  years,  you  are  at  liberty  to  do  so,  but  I  hold  out 
no  hope  to  you  that  I  shall  marry  you.  I  make  no  promise;  but  I 
shall  leave  the  colony  if  you  do  not.  Henceforth  we  are  strangers. 
I  am  weary  with  your  importunities.  What  I  could  give  I  give  freely; 
but  my  friendship,  you  said,  did  not  satisfy  your  great  love.  But  the 
love  that  would  seek  to  destroy  its  object  is  not  worthy  its  name.  I 
have  tried  to  influence  you  to  be  a  Christian ;  you  have  tried,  with 
my  mother's  help,  to  unchristianize  me.     But  it  has  come  to  an  end." 

"By  h n,  Eliza,  if  you  give  me  up  forever,  I  shall  commit  sui- 
cide.    I  shall  not  live,  and  my  blood  shall  lie  at  your  door." 

His  despairing  cry  horrified  me;  but  I  said:  "Your  blood  will  be 
upon  your  own  head.  Your  threat  to  commit  so  dark  a  crime,  is  an- 
other proof  that  I  have  no  influence  with  you  for  good,  so  farewell." 

"I  can  not,  can  not,  let  you  go,"  he  said. 

But  I  was  gone.  I  saw  him  no  more  in  the  colony.  He  left  soon 
after  for  the  Indian  Archipelago. 

Three  times  I  had  disappointed  my  mother's  worldly  prospects  in 
myself.  She  could  not  brook  the  religion  that  made  me,  as  she  said, 
stand  in  my  own  light.     She  was  yet  of  the  world  worldly. 

I  loved  my  mother,  and  if  I  could  only  gain  her  love,  I  thought  I 
could  be  happy.  On  one  occasion  when  visiting  her,  she  seemed 
more  affectionate  than  I  had  ever  seen  her.  I  felt  that  I  was  gaining 
ground,  and  I  was  so  thankful.  What  a  blessing  is  yet  to  be  mine,  I 
thought  and  hoped.  No  greater  earthly  blessing  do  I  crave  than  my 
dear  mother's  love.  I  felt  unwilling  to  leave  her.  I  told  her  I  was 
sorry  that  I  could  not  surround  her  with  all  the  appliances  of  wealth 
that  she  wished  for,  but  she  should  be  cared  for  and  loved  as  long  as 
I  lived,  and  I  should  live  only  for  her. 

"Good-bye,  dear  mother,  my  own  dear  mother,  I  shall  see  you 
soon  again." 

She  smiled,  and  I  left  her.  That  night  she  was  married  to  the  re- 
pulsive looking  gentleman  I  had  seen  at  the  picnic.  This  marriage 
was  a  bitter  stroke  to  me.     It  was  a  death-blow  to  the  hope  of  gaining 


220  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

my  mother's  love.  The  shock  and  disappointment  caused  me  to 
droop,  and  for  sometime  I  was  laid  on  a  sick-bed.  My  mother  came 
to  see  me,  and  told  me  to  get  well  and  come  and  see  her.  I  had  no 
reproaches.  I  felt,  however,  that  I  had  lost  my  mother.  To  go  and 
see  her  in  her  new  home  was  distasteiul  to  me,  but  I  went.  Her  hus- 
band showed  me  all  over  his  premises  and  grounds.  He  told  me  he 
had  a  desire  to  adopt  me,  and  make  me  his  heiress,  as  he  had  no  family. 
He  asked  me  to  call  him  father,  and  to  feel  that  now  I  had  a  home, 
and  to  come  to  it,  and  enjoy  it.  I  told  him  that  I  could  not  accept  of 
his  property  even,  without  a  condition.  I  could  not  live  dependent 
on  him  while  I  had  the  power  and  will  to  work.  I  did  not  love  him 
well  enough  to  call  him  father,  and  I  did  not  love  money  enough  to  act 
the  hyprocrite  to  get  it.     He  asked  if  this  was  my  decision. 

"Yes,"  I  said. 

"Then  you  will  live  to  regret  it." 

I  have  lived  a  long  time  since,  but  I  have  never  had  a  regret  about 
it. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

RETURN   TO    SCOTLAND. 

Mr.  P and  family  were  about  to  leave  the  colony  for  Europe. 

He  asked  me  if  I  would  like  to  travel.  I  readily  said  yes.  I  felt 
that  a  change  would  do  me  good,  not  only  a  change  of  air  and  scene, 
but  a  total  revolution  in  the  atmosphere  of  thought  and  feeling,  in 
which  I  had  lately  lived.  The  Sir  George  Seyt?iour,  an  East  India- 
man,  a  three-decker,  was  ready  for  sea,  and  Mr.  P took  passage 

in  her.  All  vessels  are  feminine,  though  they  be  christened  with 
masculine  names.  Preparations  were  being  made  for  a  lour  months' 
voyage  on  this  large  ship.  We  were  to  be  absent  from  the  colony  two 
years,  and  I  had  to  attend  to  paying  up  all  my  annual  subscriptions 
for  the  time  I  expected  to  be  absent.  The  money  I  intrusted  to  Dr. 
McFarland,  my  fatherly  friend,  of  the  Portland  ship.  He  was  at  the 
head  of  the  profession;  he  was  President  of  the  Medical  Board,  and 
highly  esteemed.  When  I  gave  him  the  money  to  pay  my  subscrip- 
tions for  two  years,  he  laughed,  and  said : 

' '  Why,  I  never  knew  any  one  to  pay  in  that  way  before.  The  time 
any  one  is  absent  from  the  colony  is  a  blank  in  the  book  of  subscrip- 
tions, and  is  not  expected  to  be  filled  up." 

"Man  does  not  make  rules  for  my  actions,"  I  said. 

"Well,  well,  be  it  as  you  say,"  said  the  doctor. 

I  bade  my  mother  farewell,  praying  God  to  keep  her  in  his  care. 
I  said,  if  all  went  well  I  purposed  returning  in  two  years.  I  had  a 
faint,  cold  fear  that  we  should  never  meet  on  earth.  I  prayed  that 
we  might  meet  in  heaven. 

"You  are  not  going  to  die  yet;  you  will  be  back  again,"  said  my 
mother. 

"It  may  be ;  but  I  am  about  to  brave  the  dangers  of  the  deep  again, 
and  I  may  never  see  land  again  after  I  embark ;  farewell." 

This  was  final;  we  never  met  again;  but  I  lived  to  return.  My 
farewells  were  all  spoken  before  I  embarked.  The  confusion  on  board 
ship,  when  the  anchor  is  being  weighed,  the  sails  set,  and  freight  being 
stowed  away,  jars  disagreeably  on  the  feelings  at  the  sad  and  solemn 

(221) 


422  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

time  of  parting  with  friends.  When  I  go  on  board  ship,  I  wish  to 
have  nothing  to  do  but  to  prepare  for  coming  events,  such  as  sea- 
sickness, and  tossing  on  the  billows.     We  were  being  towed  down 

the  harbor       Mr.   A ,  a  black-haired,   black-eyed,   dark-skinned 

young  gentleman,  a  relative  of  Mrs.  P 's,  who  lived  in  the  family, 

and  with  whom  I  had  formed  a  pleasant  acquaintance,  was  standing  in 
the  saloon  drinking  a  farewell  goblet  of  wine  with  some  gentlemen 
friends.  He  stepped  out  from  amongst  them  as  I  passed  to  my  cabin, 
to  say  that  he  had  something  to  say  to  me  of  importance.  His  man- 
ner was  unusual,  but  I  listened  to  him.  He  told  me  in  a  few  words 
that  he  wished  me  to  go  back  to  Sydney  with  him.  I,  in  some  aston- 
ishment, asked  for  what  purpose  ? 

"I  wish  you  to  go  back  with  me  to  get  married:  will  you  go?"  he 
said. 
■    "No,"  I  said  very  emphatically. 

*'  I  have  wished  for  a  long  time  to  tell  you  how  much  I  loved  you,  but 
I  feared  my  relations.  They  would  object  to  my  marriage.  Now  I  do 
not  fear  them.  I  only  fear  to  lose  you.  Do  not  go  to  England;  come 
back  with  me,  and  let  us  be  married  privately." 

He  was  quite  conscious  of  his  glorious,  full  black  eyes,  raven  hair, 
and  tall,  well-knit  frame.  He  knew  he  had  power  to  attract,  and  no 
doubt  he  thought  that  he  had  attracted  me  by  his  manly  beauty,  and 
flattered  me  by  his  attractions.  If  thus  he  thought,  he  must  have  been 
very  much  chagrmed,  when  I  told  him  that  I  had  never  even  ranked 
him  amongst  my  friends.  I  had  found  him  a  very  pleasant  acquaint- 
ance, and  this  acquaintance  might  cease  at  any  moment. 

' '  I  long  have  loved  you,  and  I  thought  you  knew  it  and  returned 
it,  and  now  I  wish  to  marry  you.  I  shall  go  back  in  the  tow  steamer 
and  bring  my  own  boat  from  the  Bay,  and  carry  you  back  with  me." 

' '  You  are  very  courteous  to  brave  the  displeasure  of  your  relatives 
on  my  account,  but  were  the  relation  you  fear  most  standing  by  listen- 
ing (and  she  was  standing  very  near  eaves-dropping)  to  your  proposal  to 
me,  I  would  say  to  you  in  her  presence,  I  will  not  marry  you  just 
because  you  have  asked  me.     I  have  no  love  for  you." 

' '  Come  back,  and  marry  me ;  you  will  learn  to  love  me,  and  you 
may  be  the  saving  of  me  from  going  to  perdition,  by  teaching  me  to 
be  a  Christian." 

"Were  I  to  do  as  you  counsel,  I  could  not  save  you  from  perdition, 
but  you  might  help  to  plunge  me  into  its  lowest  depths.    Were  all  your 


RETURN  TO  SCOTLAND.  223 

relations  to  approve  of  what  you  propose,  I  would  still  tell  you  that  it 
is  not  in  my  power  to  love  you,  nor  in  my  choice  to  marry  you." 

I  suggested  to  him,  that  he  would  do  well  to  pay  his  addresses  to  a 
young  lady  friend  of  his,  and  a  relation;  she  was  a  more  eligible  per- 
son than  I.     He  said : 

"No;  where  my  heart  has  gone  I  offer  my  hand,  and  nowhere  else. 
You  must  not  go  to  Europe;  you  ijiust  come  back  with  me." 

"Passengers  aboard!"  called  out  the  master  of  the  tow  steamer. 
We  let  go  the  anchor  at  the  Sea  Gate,  or  Heads,  and  were  going  to 
wait  for  a  fair  wind  to  fill  our  sails;  meanwhile,  those  who  had  come 

thus  far  had  to  return  with  the  steamer.    I  said  good-bye  to  Mr.  A . 

He  kissed  my  hand,  saying,  "I  shall  see  you  again." 

Later  in  the  evening,  I  was  placing  things  in  my  cabin,  and  putting 
it  in  ship-shape  order,  when  I  was  startled  by  a  loud  knock  on  my  door. 
I  opened  it,  and  there  stood  Mr.  A .     I  said  to  him : 

"I  thought  you  had  gone  back  to  Sydney  several  hours  ago.  Why 
do  you  linger?     The  ship  may  sail  at  any  time." 

He  said  he  had  gone  back  to  Sydney  for  his  boat,  and  it  was  along- 
side waiting  for  me. 

"Come  with  me;  come  away  at  once!  "  . 

His  headstrong  passion  seemed  to  carry  him  away  for  the  time  being, 
and  beclouded  his  reason.  I  felt  somewhat  sad,  as  I  listened  to  his 
impassioned  words. 

"I  am  going  to  Europe,"  I  said;  "but  I  wish  you  every  happiness, 
more  than  I  can  bring  to  you." 

He  said  I  alone  could  make  him  happy.  He  said  if  I  would  not 
return  with  him  that  night,  he  would  wait  the  whole  two  years  for  me, 
till  I  did  return  from  Europe.  He  kept  his  word,  and  did  not  marry 
till  I  revisited  New  South  Wales,  not  in  two,  but  in  ten  whole  years. 
He  parted  with  me  unwillmgly;  his  farewell  sounded  mournful  in  my 
ear,  when  he  took  my  hand,  and  whispered:  "You  can  not  teach  me 
to  forget.     Farewell!" 

A  fair,  fresh  breeze  sprang  up  with  the  rising  sun.  The  anchor  was 
weighed  once  more,  and  the  broad  wings  spread  wide,  and  gloriously 
our  noble  ship  bounded  on  her  course  southeast  across  the  Pacific 
Ocean.     I  felt  bowed  in  spirit,  and  regretted  having  listened  to  Mr. 

A just  before  leaving,  but  I  could  not  avoid  it.    How  will  it  be  in 

the  future?  I  asked  myself.  The  black  shadow,  dark  as  night,  envel- 
oped my  life,  and  stretched  away  into  the  future  over  my  whole  exist- 
ence.    The  gloom  grew  darker,  and  seemed  to  settle  on  my  breast  like 


224  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

a  huge  incubus.  The  motion  of  the  ship  made  me  reel  and  stagger. 
I  lay  down  and  slept,  and  dreamed,  and  awoke,  and  slept,  and  dreamed 
again,  the  same  horrid  dream.  When  I  awoke,  I  tried  to  shake  off  the 
effects  of  the  dream,  but  I  could  not  shake  off  the  sea-sickness.  After 
a  few  days'  sufferings,  I  was  myself  again.  Life  once  more  took  root 
in  my  frame.  As  soon  as  I  could,  I  got  upon  deck,  and  grew  strong. 
One  evening  I  watched  the  sun  go  down  into  the  water,  and  soon  it 
was  night  on  the  wave.  Presently  a  feeble  light  stole  over  the  sky,  as 
the  moon  rolled  up  into  the  deep,  blue  vault  above,  from  the  dark  cav- 
erns below.  The  moon  had  risen,  and  thrown  her  beams  athwart  the 
deep,  and  there  she  hung  like  a  gem  upon  the  brow  of  the  sky,  dark- 
ness below,  and  light  on  high.  I  watched  the  dark  clouds  in  the  dis- 
tance, how  they  were  lit  up,  as  they  neared  the  great  luminary  of 
night.  I  thought  of  the  dark  clouds  enshrouding  my  life,  and  then  I 
looked  to  the  great  moral  luminary  of  the  world,  the  source  of  life  and 
light,  and  the  clouds,  though  not  removed,  were  rifted,  and  light  shone 
through  the  darkness,  and  a  still,  small  voice  whispered :  ' '  Fear  not, 
I  am  with  you."     I  retired  with  a  calm  and  thankful  heart. 

As  thought,  ever  busy,  kept  me  awake  one  night,  I  noticed  my 
swinging  lamp  give  a  plunge  greater  than  usual;  first  this  way,  then 
that,  then  a  dash  toward  me,  a  rush  to  the  other  side,  then  a  tremulous 
shaking,  and  then  another  plunge.  I  felt  that  this  would  be  a  night  of 
storm.  The  winds  whistled  through  the  shrouds  with  a  hissing  sound, 
that  was  portentous.  Ere  day  broke  a  heavy  gale  was  blowing,  with 
a  rolling  sea,  that  made  the  ship  roll  and  pitch  much  in  fashion  like 
the  lamp.  The  sublime  monotony  of  the  Pacific  was  disturbed;  its 
usually  quiet  surface  was  lashed  into  great  waves,  and  they  were  fear- 
lessly dashing  against  the  sides  of  the  ship,  and  over  the  deck,  sweep- 
ing everything  before  them.  Everything  was  adrift.  One  of  the 
stewards  was  nearly  drowned  in  the  captain's  cabin.  A  great  sea  broke 
over  the  ship,  the  water  rushed  into  the  cabin,  dashed  him  against  the 
wall,  and  nearly  smothered  him.  I  rather  enjoyed  the  storm,  at  least 
I  had  no  apprehensions,  though  the  time  of  equinoctial  storms  and 
gales  was  at  hand.  A  fine  day,  a  fair  wind,  and  a  tranquil  sea,  put  to 
flight  all  the  dismal  thoughts  and  reflections  of  those  who  were  not  ac- 
customed to  storms,  and  were  nervous.  It  is  imiDOSsible  to  resist  the 
gladdening  influences  of  fair  winds  and  fine  weather  at  sea.  When  the 
ship  is  decked  in  all  her  canvas,  every  sail  set  and  swelled,  and  career- 
ing gayly  over  the  curling  waves,  how  lofty,  how  gallant,  she  appears; 
how  she  seems  to  lord  it  over  the  deep.    Our  captain  was  a  gentleman, 


RETURN  TO  SCOTLAND.  225 

no  doubt,  but  he  was  no  sailor.  It  was  well  for  him,  the  ship  and  the 
passengers,  of  whom  we  had  a  goodly  number,  that  his  officers  were 
efficient  men,  with  large  nautical  experience.  They  took  the  storm 
that  we  had  as  a  warning  to  prepare  for  a  greater,  and  they  prepared 
accordingly,  and  on  a  large  scale.  They  calked  all  our  port  holes,  ex- 
cluding light,  as  well  as  water  and  air.  This  calking  was  a  new  expe- 
rience to  me;  but  the  heavy,  equinoctial  gales  were  at  hand,  and  the 
ship  was  to  be  in  readiness  for  them.  Some  persons,  when  danger  is 
near,  do  not  like  to  be  alone,  and  they  wish  everybody  to  talk  to  them 
to  keep  off  the  thought  of  danger.  Others,  and  I  am  one  of  that  class, 
prefer  to  contemplate  danger  in  perfect  silence,  alone,  or  in  company. 
The  first  are  sure  to  lose  their  presence  of  mind,  and  get  confused  if 
called  upon  to  act  in  an  emergency.  The  second  are  more  likely  to 
take  advantage  of  any  means  of  safety  that  presents  itself;  they  are 
usually  self-possessed  in  time  of  peril.  We  had  a  succession  of  furious 
gales,  but  they  did  not  last  long,  and  one  fine  day  would  generally  put 
all  to  rights  again.  One  fine  Sunday,  when  everything  looked  bright 
and  cheery,  the  ship  gave  a  heavy  lurch,  groaning  and  creaking  as  she 
did  so.  We  were  about  half  way  between  Australia  and  the  dangerous 
Cape  Horn.  Billows,  like  sharp  crags  of  black  glass  dashed  with 
foam,  rose  up  before  the  ship,  as  if  to  impede  her  progress,  or  engulf 
her.  The  masts  bent  and  creaked,  the  sails  flapped  with  a  noise  like 
thunder.  The  winds  hissed  through  the  shrouds  with  a  foreboding 
sound.  The  day  grew  colder,  the  winds  blew  wilder,  and  the  waves 
grew  higher;  the  storm  altogether  grew  more  furious  toward  night. 
The  sea  was  lashed  into  tremendous  confusion.  There  was  a  fearful 
sullen  sound  of  rushing  waves  and  broken  surges.  At  times  a  volume 
of  clouds  over  head  seemed  rent  asunder  by  flashes  of  lightning,  that 
quivered  along  the  foaming  billows,  and  made  the  succeeding  darkness 
more  terrible.  The  thunders  bellowed  over  the  wilderness  of  waters, 
and  echoed  and  prolonged  the  roar  of  the  mountain  waves.  As  I  felt 
the  staggering  and  plunging  of  the  ship,  it  seemed  marvelous  that  she 
could  regain  her  equilibrium,  or  preserve  her  buoyancy.  Her  yards 
would  dip  into  the  water;  her  sails  were  saturated  in  the  sea;  her  bows 
buried  in  the  waves.  Sometimes  an  immense  foaming  swell  seemed 
ready  to  engulf  her,  and  nothing  but  a  skillful  turn  of  the  wheel  would 
save  her  from  a  fearful  shock.  The  sun  went  down  in  inky  darkness, 
amid  the  war  of  elements,  and  for  three  days  we  saw  neither  sun,  moon, 
nor  stars.  The  fires  in  the  cook's  caboose  were  washed  out  as  soon  as 
he  kindled  them,  so  he  was  not  able  to  cook  dinner  or  supper.  Wet 
15 


226  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

and  supperless  we  retired  that  night.  The  gale  rose  higher  and  higher. 
The  pitching  and  plunging  were  fearful.  One  awful  dive,  a  crash,  and 
a  mast  was  wrecked.  The  sails  on  the  broken  mast  for  a  time  were 
unmanageable;  for  they  were  split  to  ribbons,  and  went  flapping  furi- 
ously in  the  fierce  wind,  with  a  noise  like  thunder.  I  lay  down  in  my 
bunk  with  my  wet  clothes  on,  holding  on  with  both  hands,  to  keep 
from  being  pitched  on  the  floor.  A  cry  on  deck  startled  me:  "All 
lights  out." 

My  cabin-door  was  opened,  and  the  steward  stumbled  in  and  put 
out  my  light.  No  sooner  was  I  left  in  total  darkness  than  the  ship 
gave  a  fearful  plunge  and  tumbled  me  head  first  out  on  the  floor, 
where  I  sat  all  night  holding  on  with  both  hands,  being  bumped  and 
thumped  most  unmercifully.  I  could  almost  feel  the  darkness  in  which 
I  sat,  or  rather  rolled.  It  was  a  dreadful  night.  Morning  came,  but 
no  abatement  of  the  gale.  The  whistling  of  the  wind  through  the  rig- 
ging sounded  like  wailings  for  the  dead.  By  the  creaking  of  the  masts, 
I  thought  another  would  go.  The  straining  and  groaning  of  the  bulwarks, 
as  the  ship  labored  in  the  sea.  Were  frightful.  A  tremendous  billow, 
fringed  with  foam,  swept  over  our  deck,  carrying  the  cook's  caboose, 
cooking  utensils  and  stove  right  overboard  into  .the  sea.  This  was 
quite  a  misfortune,  as  no  food  had  been  cooked  for  three  days,  nor  had 
we  water  to  dVink  or  bread  to  eat.  The  hatches  were  all  fastened 
down,  so  the  steward  could  not  get  to  the  stores,  but  he  had  in  his 
pantry  a  few  tins  of  preserved  salmon  and  a  few  dozens  of  Port  wine. 
These  he  dealt  out,  but  they  were  no  substitute  for  bread  or  water. 
The  fish  increased  thirst,  and  the  wine  did  not  quench  it.  I  sat  in  the 
cold  and  wet,  the  water  all  splashing  round  me,  as  it  found  its  way 
into  my  cabin  with  a  rush.  In  the  total  darkness,  day  and  night,  I 
sat  there,  without  bread  or  water,  in  my  wet  clothes,  unable  to  get 
into  bed,  or  to  lie  down  if  I  could  get  in.  The  gale  rose  to  a  hurri- 
cane the  second  night.  I  listenened  to  the  rush  and  roar  along  the 
sides  of  the  ship  at  my  very  ear,  only  a  plank  between  me  and  death. 
The  grim  king  seemed  to  be  seeking  an  entrance  to  our  dark  and  float- 
ing prison  after  his  prey.  The  mere  starting  of  a  plank  from  a  loos- 
ened nail,  or  the  yawning  of  a  seam,  would  let  him  in.  The  hurricane 
grew  fiercer,  and  then  came  a  tremendous  crash.  Every  timber  of  the 
ship  quivered  as  the  bulwarks  were  crushed  in  and  carried  away  at  one 
fell  sweep.  The  noise  of  trampling  feet,  and  the  shouts  of  human 
voices,  mingling  with  the  elemental  war,  were  terrific.  In  the  midst 
of  the  thick  darkness,  I  was  contemplating  death  by  drowning.     I 


RETURN  TO  SCOTLAND.  227 

wondered  what  the  sensations  would  be ;  if  I  should  struggle  long.  I 
fancied  myself  gurgling  in  the  sea.  I  thought  of  the  sharks.  What 
if  I  had  to  be  eaten  by  these  cannibals  of  the  deep !  I  shuddered  at 
the  thought,  but  there  geemed  no  possible  way  of  escape,  so  I  accepted 
the  inevitable.     Ere  the  sunless  day  had  passed,  I  was  completely 

exhausted  in  mind  and  body.     Mrs.  P came  creeping  into  my 

room,  holding  on  to  everything  she  could  catch.  She  was  afraid  of 
the  fearful  noises  she  heard  all  round  us,  and  she  did  not  like  to  be 
alone.  The  gentlemen  were  in  the  saloon  trying  to  keep  the  water  out, 
by  placing  blankets  and  mattresses  and  table-cloths,  and  everything 

they  could  find,  against  the  doors.     Mrs.  P asked  me  if  ever  I 

had  been  in  such  a  storm  ? 

"Yes;  but  not  so  long  continued,"  I  said. 

She  asked  me  if  I  thought  we  would  be  lost? 

"I  see  no  way  of  escape  if  the  hurricane  lasts  much  longer,"  I 
said. 

Just  then  the  ship  gave  a  great  roll,  nearly  upon  her  beam  ends, 
which  made  her  shake  and  shiver. 

"Oh!  are  we  going  down  now?"  cried  Mrs.  P . 

"  No,"  I  said;  "the  storm  is  not  at  its  worst  yet,  though  this  is  the 
third  day  or  night  that  it  has  been  raging,  and  the  ship  labors  fright- 
fully." 

Bang,  crash,  crash,  splash !  I  put  my  hands  to  my  ears  to  shut  out 
the  dreadful  sounds,  of  what  I  thought  was  the  breaking  up  of  the 
ship.  Down,  down,  she  came  on  her  beam  ends.  My  cabin  being 
on  the  lower  side,  I  was  completely  under  water,  cabin  and  all.  I 
was  (piietly  waiting  for  the  water  to  burst  in  upon  us  and  drown  us. 

"We  are  going  now,"  I  said. 

And  my  thoughts  flew  away  from  earth  and  sea  and  sharks.  I 
thought  not  of  the  darkness  or  the  gale,  or  the  struggle  alone  in  the 
wave,  with  the  sharks  gnawing  at  my  flesh.  I  only  thought  that  my 
unclothed  soul  would  be  in  the  presence  of  her  Maker  in  a  few  mo- 
ments more.  That  was  one  of  the  most  solemn  moments  df  my  life. 
The  waters  were  rushing  over  and  around  my  cabin.  Presently,  with 
a  heavy  shudder,  our  ship  rose  from  her  starboard  beam  ends,  and 
rolled  heavily  over  to  the  leeward.     I  said  to  Mrs.  P : 

"We  did  not  go  down  just  now,  so  our  ship  can  not  sink.  But  we 
have  had  some  more  damage  done  to  the  vessel  by  that  crash  we  heard. 
However,  I  think  the  hurricane  has  reached  its  climax;  the  crisis  is 
past.     We  shall  not  go  down  in  this  gale." 


228  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

In  the  crash,  we  heard,  among  other  things,  that  the  davits  made  of 
iron,  on  which  hung  the  hfe-boat,  with  seven  or  eight  dozen  geese, 
and  other  live  stock,  were  snapped  into  sphnters,  and  away  went  the 
boat  with  a  splash,  and  the  geese  with  a  cackle,  into  the  boihng  waters. 
Our  bill-of-fare  was  shortened  by  this  loss,  as  we  had  not  yet  doubled 
Cape  Horn.  Slowly  and  sullenly  the  storm  ceased  to  blow.  Our 
ship  was  in  bad  plight.  We  had  lost  cook-house  and  everything  per- 
taining thereto ;  we  had  lost  a  mast  and  sails,  our  bulwarks,  and  a  boat 
full  of  Uve  stock;  but  we  had  weathered  the  hurricane  and  were  still 
afloat,  I  was  bruised  and  battered,  and  completely  exhausted  by  my 
three  days'  fast,  and  three  nights  without  sleep,  and  rolling  about  in 
water  and  in  wet  clothes  all  the  time,  I  was  stiff  and  cold.  The 
steward  brought  me  some  salmon  and  wine,  the  sight  of  which  made 
me  sick,  but  I  had  to  take  a  little  to  keep  life  in.  When  the  wind 
ceased  to  blow,  the  great  rolling  waters  went  down  gradually,  and 
gave  the  ship  an  opportunity  of  sailing  on  her  way  more  steadily. 
The  voice  of  the  floods  raised  a  great  turmoil,  and  lifted  the  great 
waves  on  high.  But  the  voice  of  the  Lord  said:  "Peace;  be  still," 
and  they  were  quiet.  "The  Lord  is  great,  and  greatly  to  be  praised." 
The  debris  of  the  wrecked  mast  and  bulwarks  were  cleared  away,  but 
as  the  planking  for  new  bulwarks  was  swept  away  by  the  relentless 
waves,  we  had  to  sail  without  bulwarks,  which  made  it  unsafe  to  walk 
the*  deck.  We  had  merchant  princes  on  board,  who,  when  on  shore, 
would  hardly  deign  to  speak  to  a  sailor;  but  who  on  board  in  a  storm, 
or  after  it,  are  sorry-looking  objects,  pitiable  in  the  extreme.  But  a 
sailor  in  a  storm  is  in  his  element,  and  independent  in  spirit.  He 
fills  his  place,  and  can  not  be  dispensed  with.  In  a  storm,  the  proud 
ship-owners  are  glad  to  look  up  to  the  hardy  seamen  for  help,  and 
safety.  The  ship  is  a  little  world,  where  the  inhabitants  are  few,  and 
all  have  a  common  interest  in  the  voyage.  Our  English  tars  did 
•honor  to  their  profession,  by  their  brave  and  noble  conduct  in  the  days 
•and  nights  of  peril. 

I  told  our  first  officer  one  day  that  I  hoped  in  a  short  time  to  see 
some  icebergs. 

"What!  icebergs?  not  if  I  can  help  it.  I  shall  steer  as  far  from 
them  as  possible." 

' '  Do  you  intend  to  cut  off"  the  Horn  and  pass  through  the  Magellan 
•Strait?" 

''Not  that  either." 


RETURN  TO  SCOTLAND. 


229 


"Then  do  you  intend  to  take  the  middle  course  and  steer  between 
the  ice  mountains  and  the  fire  mountains?" 

He  laughed,  and  said :   "You  have  fixed  it." 

We  doubled  the  redoubtable  Cape  Horn  on  Easter  Sunday. 

We  suffered  more  from  cold  ere  we  reached  the  latitude  of  the  Cape 
than  we  did  while  doubling  it.  We  had  left  the  Pacific  and  were  on 
the  stormy  Atlantic.  With  all  due  deference  to  Ferdinand  Magellan, 
who,  on  account  of  the  quiet  and  peaceful  behavior  of  the  mighty 
ocean,  dubbed  it  "Pacific,"  we  did  not  so  find  it.  Soon  after  passing 
the  Falkland  Islands,  two  large  ships  hove  in  sight,  which  created 
quite  a  stir  on  board  our  ship,  as  no  doubt  it  did  on  board  the  others. 
The  winds  and  waves  were  so  gentle  and  kind  that  they  allowed  the 
three  great  ships  to  get  very  near  to  each  other.  No  speaking-trump- 
ets were  needed;  nearer  and  closer  they  came,  till  our  captain  could 
touch  with  his  outstretched  hand  the  hands  of  the  others  from  their 
respective  ships.  This  was  quite  a  feat.  A  skillful  turn  of  the  wheel, 
and  they  turned  away  from  each  other,  then  returned  and  almost 
touched  again.  It  was  a  grand  sight.  We  were  short  of  provisions 
and  water,  and  what  provisions  and  sail-cloth  the  other  ships  could 
spare  from  their  stores  they  gave  us,  but  no  water.  The  noble  ships 
bowed  their  farewell  and  each  went  on  its  watery  way.  As  we  ap- 
proached the  tropics  we  had  fine  weather.  The  dark,  heavy  waters 
of  the  stormy  Atlantic  were  quiet  and  unruffled.  Everything  in  our 
cabins  was  saturated  with  brine,  and  the  heat  of  our  dark,  air-tight 
rooms  was  suffocating.  We  were  in  a  hot  vapor  bath  all  the  time, 
and  it  was  very  uncomfortable.  I  had  the  steward  to  lift  my  carpet 
and  tlirow  it  overboard,  and  everything  else  that  could  be  dispensed 
with.  We  attempted  to  put  in  at  Pernambuco,  in  South  America,  for 
water,  but  the  winds  were  contrary.  The  captain  consulted  the  pas- 
sengers as  to  the  best  course  to  pursue.  They  decided  on  the  straight 
course  to  England.  We  were  consequently  put  on  short  allowance  of 
food  and  water.  We  willingly  consented  to  this  arrangement,  and 
sailed  on.  Our  health  continued  good.  Only  the  body  of  one  sweet 
little  girl  was  consigned  to  the  deep  on  the  voyage.  A  large  fish  had 
been  caught,  and  when  cooked,  a  tempting  morsel  was  served  up  to 
me  in  my  cabin.  I  ate  it  with  a  relish,  for  I  was  hungry.  I  thanked 
the  steward  for  the  dainty  morsel,  then  he  told  me,  with  that  gusto  he 
enjoyed,  that  I  had  eaten  shark.  I  turned  very  sick  without  any  rea- 
son ;  but  I  imagined  the  shark  might  have  feasted  upon  a  dead  human 
body.     The  tropical  heat  was  very  great,  as  we  had  but  little  wind. 


230  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

We  passed  close  to  the  Azores;  we  had  a  fine  view  of  St.  Michal's, 
the  principal  one,  with  a  population  of  51,000.  The  Portuguese  dis- 
covered them  in  1439,  and  now  own  them. 

Britain,  Queen  of  the  Seas,  that  great  nation  on  whose  possessions 
the  sun  never  sets,  and  whose  tributary  countries  are  more  numerous 
than  those  of  Rome  in  her  palmiest  days,  was  being  discussed.  Ques- 
tions were  asked,  such  as,  When  shall  we  see  the  Scilly  Isles?  When 
the  land's  end?  When  the  Lizzard's  Point?  etc.  "Land  ho!"  was 
shouted  from  the  lookout.  Britain,  the  sceptered  isle,  was  in  sight. 
What  a  commotion  was  among  those  who  were  going  to  meet  their 
friends.  The  sea-girt  garden  stood  full  in  view,  and  there  go  the  ships 
to  plow  the  trackless,  pathless  ocean,  all  bedecked  with  streamers, 
waving  in  the  wind.  The  outward  bound  may  encounter  storms  and 
disasters  ere  they  reach  port,  and  the  lofty  colors  trail  on  the  slippery 
deck,  torn  and  trampled  on.  Here  comes  our  noble  ship  battered  and 
storm-beaten,  but  carrying  her  country's  colors  at  the  mast-head,  though 
tattered  and  torn.  She  was  sadly  disfigured,  for  her  figure-head  had 
gone  with  her  bulwarks;  but  the  most  important  part  of  the  ship  was 
left,  viz.:  the  hull.  The  inner  parts  were  uninjured,  and  the  crew  did 
what  they  could  with  pitch  and  paint.  The  battered  ship  reminded 
me  of  myself.  As  we  passed  up  the  English  Channel,  the  health  offi- 
cers, who  came  on  board,  pronounced  us  all  in  a  healthy  condition. 
A  pilot  took  charge  of  the  ship,  and  the  custom-house  officers  took 
charge  of  our  luggage  till  the  ship  reached  London.  We  gave  them 
our  keys,  and  left  the  ship  in  the  pilot's  boat,  hoping  to  reach  London 
as  soon  as  the  vessel.  We  landed  at  Folkestone.  When  I  touched 
terra  firma,  it  was  the  first  time  I  had  set  foot  on  English  soil,  and  this 
ended  my  first  voyage  round  the  world. 

We  had  breakfast  at  a  hotel,  and  took  the  train  for  Brighton.  I  had 
never  traveled  by  railway,  and  the  sensations  were  new  and  strange 
as  we  whirled  along.  Brighton  is  a  beautiful  seaport  town.  The 
Queen's  pavilion  looks  more  like  the  residence  of  a  Turkish  Sultan 
than  of  an  English  Queen,  but  it  is  little  used  by  her  Majesty.  Our  short 
sojourn  here  was  very  pleasant.  We  visited  Tunbridge  Wells,  and 
thence  went  on  to  London,  where  at  Norwood,  one  of  the  suburbs,  a 
house  was  rented,  and  here  we  rested  for  a  short  time. 

Five  weeks  had  passed  since  we  left  the  ship.     Mr.  P told  me 

one  day  that  he  had  been  to  the  custom-house,  and  had  been  very  much 
annoyed  at  the  conduct  of  some  of  the  officers.  He  said  he  saw  two 
men  deliberately  break  open  my  desk,  and  they  were  about  to  consign 


RETURN  TO  SCOTLAND.  23 1 

to  their  pockets  several  packages  of  gold  sovereigns,  which  had  been 
intrusted  to  me,  by  rich  friend^,  to  carry  to  poor  relatives  in  Europe. 

Mr  P 's  appearance  put  a  stop  to  the  rascality.    He  had  the  money 

wrapped  up,  put  his  seal  on  it,  and  had  it  sent  home  to  me.  Though 
I  gave  up  my  keys  to  these  honest  officials,  every  trunk  and  box  I  had 
was  broken  open,  and  many  valuable  parcels  taken  from  them,  such  as 
shawls  from  China,  and  silks  from  India,  that  I  had  brought  as  presents 
from  friends  to  friends,  and  was  to  deliver  with  love  messages  person- 
ally. I  asked  where  these  valuables  were,  as  I  wished  to  pay  the  duty 
on  them.  I  was  informed  that  they  all  had  been  forwarded  to  their 
owners,  and  duty  and  freight  had  been  collected.  I  was  told  the  law 
did  not  allow  this,  but  I  had  no  redress.  All  the  parcels  had  been 
properly  directed  for  my  guidance,  but  I  could  not  ascertain  whether 
the  owners  received  them,  as  I  did  not  know  the  address  of  any  of 
them.  I  had  no  fancy  for  litigation,  and  I  had  a  great  deal  of  trouble 
and  expense  ere  I  could  get  things  put  straight. 

I.visited  the  British  Museum,  where  I  could  well  have  spent  a  month 
with  profit.  This  great  store-house  of  everything  wonderful  in  nature, 
art,  science  and  history,  weeks  could  not  suffice  to  look  over  all  its 
wonders.  The  gloomy  old  tower,  first  a  palace,  then  a  prison,  now  a 
national  museum  of  antiquities,  was  visited;  the  fire  monument,  202 
feet  high,  was  ascended;  the  tunnel  was  looked  into.  One  can  hardly 
imagine  a  vast  flood  of  water  rolling  over  one's  head,  with  ships  of  large 
size  and  heavy  tonnage  floating  on  its  surface.  I  visited  all  the  places 
of  interest  in  London  ere  I  left  it. 

Just  as  the  steamer,  which  was  carrying  me  to  my  native  land,  was 
sailing  out  of  dock,  a  letter  was  handed  to  me,  to  say  that  friends  would 
meet  me  at  Glasgow,  and  I  must  take  a  st^ieamer  for  that  port.  It  was 
too  late;  I  was  on  my  way  to  Leith,  the  port  of  Edinburgh.  As  I  ap- 
proached the  shores  of  Scotland,  my  heart  felt  the  torch  of  patriotism 
enkindle  it.  Caledonia  can  boast  of  an  ancient  and  warlike  history, 
dating  back  to  Fergus  ist,  328  years  before  Christ. 

A  heavy  storm  had  swept  over  the  North  Sea,  and  its  waters  were 
still  in  commotion;  we  had  what  the  sailors  called  "the  tail  of  the  gale." 

It  was  midnight  when  the  ship  touched  Granton  Pier,  with  feelings 
akin  to  Columbus  wherMie  landed  at  San  Salvador.  Had  it  not  been 
for  a  strange  crowd  that  stood  around,  I  should  have  knelt  and  kissed 
the  earth  as  I  stepped  upon  my  native  shore.  Who,  that  has  wandered 
in  distant  lands,  feels  not  a  thrill  of  pleasure  as  he  apjjroachcs  the  land 
of  his  birth?     I  sent  a  porter  on  board  for  my  luggage,  and  while  I 


232  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

Stood  idle  and  alone,  a  stranger  in  my  own  land,  I  felt  no  sense  of  lone- 
liness. I  was  in  Scotland,  the  land  of  the  free  and  the  brave.  The 
old  Scotch  porter  asked  me : 

"Mem,  will  I  tak  your  boxes  to  the  hotel?" 

"Yes,"  I  said. 

"Will  ya  tak  a  noddy  (hack)  yersel,  an  ride  ta  the  hotel?" 

"No,"  1  answered;    "I  shall  walk  with  you  to  the  hotel." 

So  I  walked  with  the  old  man,  for  I  loved  to  hear  him  talk  the  Scot- 
tish dialect;  it  had  music  for  me,  it  thrilled  me.  I  laughed  right  out  at 
the  old  man's  exclamation,  when  I  told  him  I  had  come  from  Australia. 

"Losh  bless  me  lassie,  awe  the  way  frae  Australly,  that  far  awa 
kintra,  weel,  weel,  its  wonderfa." 

The  gale  had  driven  a  French  ship  into  that  port  that  day  for  repairs, 
and  when  we  reached  the  hotel,  we  found  every  available  space  filled 
with  the  storm-stayed  passengers.  We  went  to  two  or  three  houses, 
but  all  were  full;  I  could  not  find  a  shelter  anywhere  apparently,  and 
the  poor,  old  man  was  distressed. 

"Weel  a  weel,  what's  ta  be  dune  for  I  dinna  ken?" 

"Take  me  anywhere  for  the  night;  I  suppose  all  the  people  of  the 
village  are  respectable,"  I  said. 

"Deed  are  they." 

I  had  become  accustomed  to  hear  the  people  say,  "we  hae  na  a 
spare  bed  in  the  hoose,"  in  answer  to  the  old  man's  asking  for  "shelter 
for  a  young  stranger  lassie  for  the  nicht."  I  trudged  beside  the  old 
man  from  end  to  end  of  the  village,  but  to  no  purpose.  All  had  their 
houses  occupied,  a  very  unusual  thing.  I  did  not  feel  half  the  concern 
that  the  poor  old  man  felt,  but  I  was  becoming  very  tired  with  my 
walk  through  the  streets.  So  I  made  up  my  mind  to  get  all  ray  trunks 
and  traps  placed  on  the  ground,  and  I  should  take  a  seat  on  them  for 
the  rest  of  the  night  without  shelter.  I  told  the  old  man  not  to  distress 
himself,  for  I  was  not  afraid,  I  was  in  Scotland. 

"  Ma  puir  lassie,  ye  can  na  bide  oot  by  awe  nicht,  ye  munn  ha  a 
bield  o'  some  kind,"  said  the  sympathetic  old  man.  "There's  only 
ane  hoose  that  I  did  na  gang  tae,  an  I  fear  the  leddies  ha  gane  away, 
bit  I'll  see. 

So  on  we  trudged  a  little  farther  to  the  one  house  thatf  had  not  been 
disturbed  by  our  midnight  knocking  at  the  door.  But  now  the  old 
man  roused  the  sleepers,  the  door  opened,  and  he  was  admitted,  and 
the  door  closed  again.  I  was  outside.  The  excitement  of  landing, 
and  the  pleasure  I  had  listening  to  the  old  man's  broad,  vernacular 
speeches,  and  the  novelty  of  not  finding  a  place  to  lodge  in  the  first 


RETURN  TO  SCOTLAND.  233 

night  of  my  arrival  in  my  native  country,  kept  me  up.  I  leaned  against 
a  window  sill,  and  said  to  myself:  "Here  I  am  alone  in  the  vast  soli- 
tude of  sleeping  Scotland."  The  night  was  robed  in  light;  the  firma- 
ment was  glowing  with  stars,  and  the  moon  had  unveiled  her  peerless 
face,  and  shone  out  beautifully  bright.  All  was  congenial  with  my 
thoughts;  a  holy  calm  seemed  to  pervade  the  very  atmosphere.  I  felt 
as  if  I  were  in  the  presence  of  Deity.  This  thought  was  sweet  and 
soothing  to  my  feelings.  Though  I  had  no  couch  on  which  to  lie,  I 
felt  at  rest.  I  felt  that  it  would  be  no  hardship  for  me  to  sit  all  night 
just  where  I  was,  with  the  earth  for  my  throne,  and  the  deep  blue 
vault  of  heaven,  gem-studded,  for  my  canopy,  and  the  pale  light,  like 
a  silver  mantle,  thrown  around  me.  I  almost  forgot  where  I  was,  when 
I  heard  the  old  man's  voice  from  within  say: 

"  All  the  way  from  Australly." 

The  door  opened,  I  almost  felt  sorry  to  be  disturbed,  when  a  sweet- 
voiced  maid-servant  invited  me  to  come  in,  and  the  old  man  said: 

"Weel,  weel,  here  ye  can  get  a  room." 

I  followed  my  trunks  into  the  house.  I  had  given  up  the  faintest 
hope  of  finding  a  shelter  for  myself;  but  the  Lord  did  provide.  I 
quadrupled  the  sum  the  old  man  asked  for  his  services;  I  thought  he 
richly  earned  it.  He  said  he  wad  do  onything  that  he  could  for  me 
as  lang  as  I  remained  in  the  place.  And  he  did  attend  to  my  baggage, 
and  besides  his  pay,  I  gave  him  a  souvenir  from  "Australly,"  which 
perfectly  delighted  him.  I  was  conducted  upstairs  by  the  servant, 
who  was  neatly  dressed,  though  she  must  have  been  roused  from  sleep; 
it  was  3  o'clock  A.  M.  I  was_  ushered  into  a  room  brightly  lit  up 
with  gas.  Deal-dressers,  filled  with  delf-ware,  white  and  bright  and 
clean,  were  ranged  on  one  side ;  on  the  wall  opposite  hung,  not  pic- 
tures, but  pot  and  pan-lids,  bright  and  shiny,  like  silver  mirrors.  A 
cooking-range,  highly  polished,  and  all  the  cooking  utensils  arranged 
with  the  greatest  good  order,  told  me  that  I  was  in  a  Scotch  kitchen,  a 
gem  of  its  kind.  The  girl  apologized  for  taking  me  to  the  kitchen, 
saying  that  the  rooms  had  all  been  disrobed  of  curtains  and  carpets; 
everything  was  being  packed  up  for  removal  to  their  city  home.  I 
said  no  apology  from  them  was  necessary.  A  little  table,  with  a  tray 
covered  with  a  snowy  napkin,  with  a  few  dainty  viands,  such  as  would 
tempt  a  sick  stomach,  and  a  cup  of  the  most  fragrant  tea,  such  as 
would  cure  sickness,  was  set  before  me.  The  aroma  was  refreshing. 
My  heart  was  too  full  of  grateful  feelings  to  eat.  I  drank  a  cup  of 
the  delicious  tea.     Great  tears  rolled  from  my  eyes,  and  my  pent-up 


234  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE.  ^ 

feelings  burst  forth  in  sobs.     I  apologized  to  the  girl  for  my  involun- 
tary sobs. 

"The  Lord  who  rules  the  earth's  affairs, 
For  me  a  well-spread  board  prepares ; 
My  grateful  thanks  to  him  shall  rise, 
He  knows  my  wants,  those  wants  supplies." 

I  heard  a  soft,  sweet  voice  in  the  hall  say,  in  musical  tones: 
"  Maggie,  be  kind  to  the  stranger;  do  everything  in  your  power  to 
make  her  as  comfortable  as  the  house  can  afford.     You  know  we  were 
once  ourselves  strangers  in  a  strange  land,  so  be  kind  to  her." 

A  fresh  sob  prevented  my  hearing  Maggie's  answer.  I  had  no 
doubt  as  to  what  it  was,  however.  I  was  conducted  to  a  bed-room 
that  had  been  prepared  for  me  in  a  hurry.  I  sank  down  in  the  soft, 
clean  bed,  after  committing  myself  to  Him  who  slumbers  not.  The 
weary  traveler  sank  down  to  a  profound  sleep,  and  slept  till  noon 
next  day.  "Nature's  sweet  restorer,  balmy  sleep,"  had  done  her 
duty.  I  was  rested  and  refreshed.  Maggie,  as  if  by  magic,  knew 
when  I  moved,  and  had  a  delicious  breakfast  at  my  bedside  in  a 
twinkling,  and  insisted  that  I  should  eat  it  before  getting  up.  To 
this  I  made  but  faint  objection.  As  soon  as  my  toilet  was  made, 
Maggie  conducted  me  down-stairs  to  the  drawing-room,  where  two 
ladies  rose  to  greet  me.  The  elder  introduced  the  younger,  Miss 
McDonald,  daughter  of  Colonel  McDonald,  of  Powder  Hall,  near 
Edinburgh.  The  elder  was  Miss  McDonald,  sister  to  the  colonel. 
I  had  sent  them  my  card.  I  soon  discovered  that  the  younger 
lady  owned  the  soft,  sweet  voice  I  had  heard  in  the  night,  so  sooth- 
ing to  my  ear.  While  I  listened  to  her,  I  breathed  a  prayer  for 
her ;  she  could  not  hear,  but  it  was  heard  by  Him  whose  ear  is  ever 
open  to  our  prayers.  These  ladies  took  a  deep  and  lively  interest  in 
the  stranger.  I  was  able  to  tell  them  of  acquaintances  they  had  in  the 
far-off  South  Land.  I  was  charmed.  They  delighted  me  with  their 
pleasant,  affectionate  manners.  The  seaside  residence  which  they 
occupied  was  about  to  be  vacated,  but  they  said  they  would  remain 
there  a  few  days  longer  to  suit  my  convenience.  They  also  gave  me 
a  pressing  invitation  to  spend  some  time  with  them,  and,  if  possible, 
make  Powder  Hall  my  headquarters  while  I  was  Scotland.  I  prom- 
ised to  visit  them  at  the  Hall.  Meantime,  I  accepted  one  night  more 
of  their  seaside  hospitality.  I  spent  the  day  and  night  with  these 
highly-cultured,  refined  and  elegant  ladies,  each  telling  of  her  travels 
in  different  directions.  They  had  traveled  much,  but  I  do  not  think 
they  were  ever  shelterless  as  I  was,  on  the  night  on  which  I  roused 
them  from  their  slumbers.     They  treated  me  just  as  they  would  like 


RETURN  TO  SCOTLAND.  235 

to  be  treated  in  similar  circumstances.  A  young  sister  and  niece  of 
these  two  ladies  was  sick,  and  had  been  bedridden  for  a  long  time. 
She  was  a  lovely  and  interesting  young  Christian,  and  while  on  her 
sick-bed  had  written  a  little  work  for  young  Christians,  a  copy  of 
which  was  presented  to  me,  with  a  request  to  read  it,  and  when  I  had 
visited  my  friends  to  haste  to  Powder  Hall  and  become  acquainted 
with  the  dear  invalid.  I  was  sorry  to  leave  these  charming  ladies. 
Their  kindness  had  been  untiring.  They  asked  me  to  write  to  them, 
which  I  promised  to  do.  I  also  promised  to  do  myself  the  pleasure 
to  visit  them  soon.  Man  proposes,  God  disposes.  I  did  write  to 
these  new  friends,  only  to  tell  them  that  it  was  not  in  my  power  to 
visit  them,  as  I  was  about  to  sail  for  America.  Their  letters  were 
kind  in  the  extreme.  The  young  invalid  regretted  not  having  the 
opportunity  to  meet  me  and  become  acquainted.  I  felt  equally  sorry. 
We  exchanged  messages  of  love.  I  also  had  letters  of  introduction 
from  these  ladies  to  friends  in  America.  They  hoped  when  I  landed 
in  that  strange  country  I  should  be  better  cared  for  than  I  had  been 
on  landing  in  my  own.     But  they  added : 

"We  owe  to  your  adventure  the  pleasure  of  having  become  ac- 
quainted with  you." 

To  me  this  acquaintance  was  a  bright  spot,  full  of  fragrant  flowers, 
on  my  desert  path. 

After  parting  with  my  new  friends,  the  train  soon  took  me  to  Edin- 
burgh. Edwin,  the  Anglo-Saxon  King  of  Northumberland,  founded 
Edwin's  Burg,  now  Edinburgh.  It  consists  of  two  parts — the  old  and 
the  new  town.  The  one  lies  on  level  ground,  and  is  a  handsome, 
modern-built  city.  The  old  is  separated  from  it  by  a  deep  valley 
running  east  and  west,  and  lies  south  of  the  other  on  a  long  and  lofty 
ridge,  and  bears  an  ancient  and  venerable  aspect,  with  its  old  but  sub- 
stantial buildings,  ten,  twelve  and  fourteen  stories  high.  The  hills  in 
the  environs  afford  very  beautiful  and  extended  views.  Arthur's  Seat, 
the  towering  summit  of  a  vast  collection  of  precipices,  is  the  most 
noted.  Hills  and  valleys  and  slopes  are  all  as  green  as  a  lawn. 
Holyrood  Palace,  the  residence  of  Scottish  kings  and  queens  for 
many  centuries,  is  full  of  relics,  and  of  sad  mementoes  of  our  beau- 
tiful but  unfortunate  Queen  Mary,  whose  whole  life  was  a  melancholy 
history,  and  over  whose  dark  fate  the  tear  of  sympathy  falls  after  the 
lapse  of  three  centuries.  Everything  in  Mary's  room  is  just  as  she 
left  it.  As  it  is  not  Mary's  but  my  own  history  that  I  am  writing,  I  must 
not  linger  at  Holyrood,  but  pfoceed  to  the  Castle,  which  is  an  ancient 
fortress,  standing  on  a  rugged  rock  200  feet  high,  which  overlooks  the 


236  THE  STORY  OK  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

town.  On  the  battery  stands  "  Mons.  Meg."  (Monstrous  Maggie), 
who  shook  the  city  Hke  an  earthquake,  and  broke  all  the  windows, 
doing  great  damage  generally  to  the  town,  but  especially  damaging 
herself  by  cracking  her  muzzle.  She  had  it  bandaged  with  iron  belts, 
and  there  she  stands,  a  monument  of  uselessness  after  her  one  exploit. 
The  regalia  of  Scotland  is  lodged  in  the  Castle.  Edinburgh  is  famous 
for  its  institutions  of  learning,  the  inhabitants  are  hterary,  and  the  city 
well  deserves  the  name  of  "Modern  Athens."  I  attended  to  the 
delivery  of  love  messages  and  money  to  some  persons  in  this  city.  I 
also  had  a  letter  of  introduction  to  the  reverend  and  distinguished 
James  Haldane,  of  Edinburgh.  I  spent  a  very  pleasant  day  at  his 
house.  His  daughter  was  exceedingly  attentive  to  me.  I  remained 
over  Sunday  to  hear  the  venerable  Mr.  Haldane  preach  in  what  used 
to  be  the  great  Tabernacle,  but.  it  was  now  contracted  in  size,  and 
though  the  congregation  was  good,  yet  it  was  not  so  large  as  in  days 
gone  by.  I  took  the  railroad  train  to  Glasgow,  and  whirled  away  at 
a  rapid  rate.  Glasgow  is  the  largest  city  in  Scotland.  It  stands  on 
each  side  of  the  Clyde,  and  has  large  and  handsome  buildings.  Its 
Cathedral  is  the  most  perfect  specimen  of  ancient  or  Gothic  architect- 
ure that  the  zeal  of  the  Reformers  left  standing  in  Scotland. 

One  quarter  of  an  hour  from  the  time  I  stepped  into  the  train  at 
Glasgow  I  was  at  Paisley.  I  looked  around  from  the  platform  of  the 
depot  on  which  I  stood,  and  saw  a  great  many  houses,  the  roofs  of 
which  were  level  with  the  platform.  The  railway  crossed  a  low  part 
of  the  town  on  a  viaduct,  and  whole  streets  were  demolished  to  give 
way  for  the  structure.  I  did  not  recognize  my  birthplace  at  all. 
Everything  seemed  changed.  I  greeted  my  mother  earth.  "O  how 
kindly  thou  hast  led  me,  Heavenly  Father,  day  by  day;  found  my 
dwelling,  clothed  and  fed  me,  furnished  friends  to  cheer  my  way." 
Yet  my  heart  sent  forth  a  secret  sigh  as  memory  wandered  over  the 
past.  Smiles  took  the  place  of  somber  looks  when  I  saw  my  cousin 
pressing  through  the  crowd  to  meet  me.  My  anxious  thoughts  were 
dispelled.  Our  meeting  was  pleasant,  his  greeting  cordial.  I  found 
the  greatest  changes  in  the  few  short  years  of  my  absence  that  could 
well  be  imagined.  One  uncle  who  had  been  years  in  India  ha4  come 
home  and  taken  his  wife  and  only  son  abroad  with  him.  My  only 
other  aunt  and  uncle  that  I  had  left  in  Scotland  were  quietly  sleeping 
in  the  church-yard.  My  cousins  all  vied  with  each  other  in  showing 
me  kindness  I  felt  at  home,  notwithstanding  the  changes.  I  felt  a 
thrill  of  joy  at  the  thought,  here  I  am  at  home. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

NEW   EXPERIENCES    IN   SCOTLAND. 

Mr.  William  Neil,  minister  to  the  Baptist  Church,  had  married  one 
of  my  cousins.  He  was  eminent  for  piety  and  good  works.  The  first 
Sunday  that  I  heard  my  cousin  preach,  I  felt  a  strange  joy  that  I  was 
so  privileged.  When  I  partook  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  they  were 
surprised  and  pleased  that  I  had  become  a  Baptist.  In  this  church  I 
had  first  seen  the  rite  of  baptism,  and  despised  it.  Since  then  I  had 
been  changed.  After  the  church  service  was  over,  it  was  announced 
that  a  Mr.  Campbell  from  America  was  preaching  in  different  cities 
to  the  churches.     He  was  a  great  Reformer.     The  question  was, 

"Shall  we  invite  Mr.  Campbell  to  preach  to  this  church  the  next 
Sunday?" 

Whereon  a  few  venerable  men,  whose  silvery  hair  formed,  as  it  were, 
crowns  of  glory  on  their  heads,  rose  up,  one  at  a  time,  and  said: 

"We  will  have  nothing  to  do  with  Mr.  Campbell,  or  his  new  fangled 
doctrines."  "Mr.  Campbell  is  not  orthodox."  "We  shall  not  hear 
him  preach  to  us;  he  would  turn  our  church  organization  up  side 
down;  overturn  our  government;  yes,  and  even  raze  the  foundations 
on  which  our  church  is  built."  "We  want  no  revolutionist  to  preach 
for  us;  we  will  not  invite  Mr.  Campbell  to  preach  to  this  church." 
•  Thus  spoke  the  hoary-headed  fathers.  I  had  great  veneration  for 
these  conservatives,  and  consequently  my  sympathies  were  with  them. 
The  church  listened  with  the  most  profound  attention  while  the  vener- 
ated fathers  spoke;  but  when  they  all  had  finished  what  they  had  to 
say,  a  man  of  middle  age  rose  up,  and  began : 

"I  am  astonished  at  some  of  the  speeches  our  fathers  have  made. 
I  did  not  know  until  now,  that  our  organization,  our  government,  the 
very  foundation  on  which  our  church  is  built,  were  so  weak,  that  Mr. 
Campbell  could,  with  one  day's  preaching,  raze  the  foundation  of  our 
church,  and  turn  everything  in  connection  with  it  up  side  down.  If 
our  foundation  was  on  Christ  the  rock  of  ages,  the  gates  of  hell  could 
not  prevail  against  it;  but  if  our  church  be  founded  on  sand,  the  sooner 
it  is  razed,  and  everything  connected  with  it  turned  up  side  down,  the 

(237) 


238  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

better.  Mr.  Campbell  may  then  help  us  build  on  the  sure  foundation. 
I  vote  to  have  Mr.  Campbell  preach  for  us  next  Sunday,  if  we  can  per- 
suade him  to  come." 

This  speech  created  quite  a  revolution  in  the  feelings  of  the  congre- 
gation.   A  vote  was  taken,  and  all  but  the  few  old  men  who  had  spoken 
were  for  inviting  Mr.  Campbell  to  preach  on  the  next  Sunday,  and 
forthwith  he  was  invited.     I  heard  one  member  say  that  "were  Mr, 
Campbell  to  preach  fifty  revolutionary  sermons,  they  can  do  us  no 
harm,  if  we  are  founded  on  Christ,  the  rock.     We  must  look  into  this 
matter,  and  see  that  we  are  all  right."     On  leaving  church  every  one 
was  discussing  the  merits  and  demerits  of  what  had  been  spoken.     I 
had  intended  to  spend  a  few  weeks  making  a  tour  of  the  highlands,  but 
having  heard  so  much  of  this  revolutionary  preacher,  my  curiosity  to 
hear  him  was  excited;  so  I  altered  my  plan.    I  would  spend  the  week 
at  Loch  Gilphead,  visit  my  nurse's  grave,  and  return  on  Saturday,  in 
time  to  hear  this  unorthodox   Mr.  Campbell,  and  judge  for  myself, 
whether  he  preached  Christ  or  not.     I  hired  a  row-boat,  and  floated 
down  the  Cart  River,  took  a  steamer  at  its  junction  with  the  Clyde,  and 
steamed  down  this  romantic  river,  passing  the  ruined  palaces  and  forts, 
among  them  Dumbarton  Castle,  where  Wallace's  sword  is  kept.     The 
memory  of  the  happy  days  that  I  spent  all  along  here,  was  like  flowers 
kept  fresh  in  water.     My  young  heart  had  been  long  inured  to  pain, 
but  tears  for  the  present  had  given  place  to  pleasure  and  sweet  memo- 
ries.    On  we  sped  past  Greenock,  the  isles  of  Arran  and  Bute,  up 
Lock  Fine,  and  landed  at  the  former  home  of  Highland  Maggie,  the 
present  home  of  her  mother  Lucky  and  her  brother,  Lachie  Campbell, 
who  used  to  carry  me  to  the  beach,  and  tell  me  stories,  and  gather  shells 
and  dulce  for  me.     Verily,  I  was  a  little  child  again.     Lachie  accom- 
panied me  on  a  flying  visit  to  his  sisters,  among  the  hills.    The  heather- 
clad  hills  were  as  beauteous  as  of  yore.     My  only  regret  was,  that  I 
could  not  stay  longer  among  the  silvery  fountains  and  glistening  lakes, 
and  the  sweet  perfume  of  the  flowery  dells.    The  locks  in  the  Creenan 
Canal  had  the  same  interest  for  me  as  of  old.      Nothing  here  had 
changed.     The  gushing  springs,  the  rushing  streams,  the  roaring  cata- 
racts, the  sparkling  cascades,  the  gloomy  glens,  the  caves  and  cliffs, 
and  shady  woods,  and  fragrant  air — my  heart  beat  in  sympathy  with  all. 

"Oh,  wave,  and  rill,  and  breeze,  and  rock,  and  wood, 
Was  it  not  God  himself  that  called  thee  good." 

On  the  28th  of  August,  1847,  I  was  seated  in  the  Baptist  Church, 


SAD  EXPERIENCES  IN  SCOTLAND.  239 

Paisley.  It  was  early,  but  the  large  house  was  crowded;  many,  like 
myself,  were  there  from  sheer  curiosity,  to  see  and  hear  some  new 
thing.     A  gentleman  who  sat  next  to  me  said : 

"There  comes  the  great  Mr.  Campbell." 

I  looked  in  the  direction,  and  saw  my  cousin  with  several  gentlemen 
coming  up  the  aisle.  One  form  attracted  me  more  than  the  others;  he 
was  not  bedizened  with  chains,  or  rings,  or  diamond  pins,  or  jewelry 
of  any  kind.  He  was  above  the  middle  height,  strongly  built,  but 
rather  thin;  his  hair  was  gray,  and  stood  up  from  his  high,  intellectual 
forehead;  he  had  heavy  eyebrows;  his  perceptive  organs  were  very 
large;  he  had  a  high,  Roman  nose,  as  one  born  to  command;  the  lines 
on  his  face  were  strongly  marked.  With  hat  in  hand,  and  bowed  head, 
leaning  lightly  on  a  cane,  he  walked  up  to  the  pulpit  steps.  Mr.  Neil, 
having  led  the  way,  stood  on  one  side  to  let  the  stranger  pass  up  the 
steps  to  the  pulpit.  But  Mr.  Campbell,  for  it  was  he,  did  not  go  up  so 
high  as  the  preacher's  stand,  but  took  the  precentor's,  till  he  was  called 
up  higher.  I  never  took  my  eyes  off  this  strange  gentleman,  but 
watched  his  every  movement.  His  eagle  glance  scanned  the  congre- 
gation, and  for  a  moment  his  piercing  blue  eye  rested  on  me.  I 
seemed  to  feel,  as  well  as  see,  his  glance.  I  felt  as  if  he  had  penetrated 
to  my  inmost  soul,  and  there  read  all  my  thoughts.  My  cousin  intro- 
duced Mr.  Campbell  to  the  congregation,  and  conducted  the  prelimin- 
ary services.  Mr.  Neil  was  a  young  man,  comparatively,  but  he  was 
an  orthodox  Calvinist,  as  well  as  the  gray-haired  fathers  were,  not  one 
of  whom  was  present.  He  was  grave  in  his  manners,  good  in  his 
morals,  and  preached  to  please  a  highly  intelligent  church. 

The  thirteenth  chapter  of  first  Corinthians  was  read,  and  Mr.  Camp- 
bell rose  to  speak.  His  voice  was  firm  and  clear;  every  syllable  was 
distinctly  uttered,  and  was  heard  in  the  uttermost  corners  of  the  large 
house;  his  tones  were  low  and  impressive.  He  looked  round  upon 
the  upturned  faces  for  a  moment;  then  he  took  up  the  open  Bible  in 
his  hands,  and  said: 

"We  are  not  in  the  habit  of  taking  a  verse  out  of  a  chapter,  or  a 
clause  out  of  a  verse,  for  a  text  to  preach  from.  We  take  the  Bible,  the 
whole  Bible,  and  nothing  but  the  Bible,  for  a  text,  and  preach  from  it." 

He  held  up  the  precious  book  while  he  spoke,  then  with  a  most  em- 
phatic gesture,  brought  it  down  on  the  cushioned  desk.  This,  I  be- 
lieve, was  the  only  gesture  he  made  in  a  discourse  of  three  hours.  He 
proceeded,  and  said : 

"On  this  occasion,  we  shall  depart  from  our  usual  practice,  and  take 


240  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

tlie  thirteenth  chapter  of  first  Corinthians  and  thirteenth  verse.  Paul 
says,  'Now  abideth  faith,  hope  and  charity,  these  three,  but  the  greatest 
of  these  is  charity.'  I  shall  give  charity  its  true  rendering,  and  call  it 
love.  The  text  will  now  read,  'And  now  abideth  faith,  hope,  love, 
but  tWb  greatest  of  these  is  love.'" 

He  defined  what  faitli  was,  and  expatiated  in  glowing  terms  on  it. 
There  was  something  so  new  and  wonderful  in  the  manner  in  which 
faith  was  represented,  that  I  became  deeply  interested.  The  whole 
house  was  impressed.  Faith  to  me  had  a  new  significance,  and  when 
Mr.  Campbell  passed  on  to  define  hope,  I  feared  it  would  not  come  up 
to  what  was  said  of  faith.  I  thought  nothing  could  surpass  my  idea  of 
what  faith  was;  however,  his  definition  and  description  of  hope  left 
faith  in  the  shade.  Hope,  the  anchor  of  the  soul,  echpsed  faith  com- 
pletely. Words  of  mine  can  never  do  justice  to  the  grandeur  of  that 
discourse.  It  was  thrilling.  I  was  bewildered  by  a  rush  of  new  ideas. 
"These  three,  but  the  greatest  of  these  is  love."  Now  I  thought  noth- 
ing more  can  be  added  to  the  grand  discourse  already  spoken.  He 
had  been  leaning  on  the  desk  with  his  elbow  in  a  most  easy,  graceful 
manner  most  of  the  time.  Now  he  rose  from  his  easy  position,  but 
without  a  single  gesture  to  interrupt  the  magnificent  flow  of  his  grand 
thoughts,  as  they  were  poured  out  in  the  most  beautiful,  chaste,  poetic 
and  powerful  language.  His  mien  was  calm  and  majestic.  I  had 
never  seen  it  equaled  in  the  pulpit,  though  I  had  heard  the  distin- 
guished James  Haldane,  the  celebrated  Dr.  Chalmers,  and  the  elegant 
Dr.  Wardlaw,  and  other  great  men.  Yet  this  stranger,  this  Mr.  Alex- 
ander Campbell,  surpassed  them  all,  both  in  mind  and  manner.  My 
listening  powers  were  awed,  and  every  thought  in  silence  hung  in  won- 
dering expectancy.  His  words  seemed  oracles,  that  pierced  the  hearts 
of  all  who  heard  him.  Each  would  turn  to  his  neighbor  in  dumb  won- 
der, and  look  into  his  face,  whose  face  would  answer  in  the  same 
wondering  gaze.  His  theme  was  transcendently  grand,  and  his  won- 
derful powers  of  delineation  did  it  justice.  He  was  full  of  eloquence, 
yet  precise;  he  was  luminous,  yet  profound.  He  set  the  great  princi- 
ples which  he  advocated  before  the  learned  and  the  unlettered  in 
such  a  way,  that  none  could  misunderstand.  There  was  no  need  of 
the  dim,  religious  light  of  the  cathedral,  the  lofty,  vaulted  roof,  or  the 
deep  tones  of  the  organ,  as  accessories  to  awe  the  rapt  listeners.  Every 
word  was  touched  with  an  emphasis  that  absolutely  thrilled  one. 
The  vast  audience  was  riveted  in  breathless  attention.  The  pulses 
of  the   silent  crowd  could   almost  be  heard  while  he  spoke.      He 


SAD  EXPERIENCES  IN  SCOTLAND.  24I 

seemed  to  feel  all  he  said.  His  manner,  so  calm  and  dignified,  in- 
vested his  theme  with  a  strange  importance  to  me,  as  he  touched,  with 
an  unexpected  truth,  a  chord  in  my  own  heart,  that  tremblingly  re- 
sponded to  the  touch.  "God  is  love."  I  saw  all  creation  in  a  new 
light.  God's  love  permeated  the  universe.  God  loved  man  above  all 
created  beings;  loved  hmi  so  much  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son 
to  die  for  him  that  he  might  live.  I  was  made  to  feel  that  the  love  of 
God  was  higher  than  heaven,  deeper  than  the  grave,  and  wide  as 
eternity ;  it  was  past  my  understanding.  It  seemed  to  me  that  my 
whole  being  was  undergoing  a  transformation,  while  I  was,  by  some 
magic  power,  perfectly  engrossed  by  the  subject  of  the  discourse.  I 
felt  unutterable  things,  and  felt  a  great  desire  to  do  something  for  my 
fellow-beings,  to  show  my  appreciation  of  God's  love  to  me.  I  felt  a 
new  power  within  me;  my  heart  was  enlarged,  my  understanding  en- 
lightened; and  I  thought  the  people  over  whom  Mr.  Campbell  had 
influence  must  be  superior,  because  of  his  teaching,  to  any  people  I 
had  ever  met.  This  first  sermon  which  Mr.  Campbell  preached  in 
my  hearing  was  a  pivot  on  which  my  destiny  turned.  I  made  a  sud- 
den resolution,  and  mentally  said:  "Whither  thou  goest,  I  will  go; 
and  where  thou  lodgest,  I  will  lodge.  Thy  people  shall  be  my  people, 
and  thy  God  my  God." 

His  hearers  were  spell-bound  for  three  hours,  nor  did  they  relax 
their  attention  till  Mr.  Campbell  had  finished  his  discourse.  Their 
admiration  was  unbounded.  I  could  have  listened  to  him  forever  I 
thought.  The  hours  seemed  like  minutes;  no  weariness  did  any  one 
feel.  At  the  close  of  his  grand  discourse,  he  said  if  any  wished  to 
join  the  Church  of  Christ,  the  New  Testament  only  required  that  a 
penitent  believer  should  confess  Christ  before  men  intelligently,  be 
buried  with  him  in  baptism,  and  rise  with  him  to  newness  of  life. 
When  Christ  took  Peter's  confession,  he  asked,  "Whom  do  you  say 
that  I  am?"  And  Simon  Peter  answered,  "Thou  art  the  Christ,  the 
Son  of  the  living  God."  And  Jesus  answered  and  said,  "Blessed  art 
thou,  Simon  Barjona,  for  flesh  and  blood  hath  not  revealed  it  to  thee, 
but  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven.  And  I  say  unto  thee,  upon  this- 
rock  I  will  build  my  church,  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail 
against  it." 

"This  good  confession  that  Peter  made  to  Christ  himself  was  all 
that  Clirist  required  of  Peter,  and  from  lliat  day  to  this,  tlie  good  con- 
fession, no  more,  no  less,  is  all  that  the  New  Testament  requires  of 
16 


242  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

anyone  before  he  enters  the  kingdom  of  his  Lord  and  Savior,"  said 
Mr   Campbell. 

This  glorious  teaching  was  all  new  to  me,  but  my  heart  responded  to 
the  grand  truths.  I  thought  of  the  weary  days  and  weeks  and  months 
of  misery  in  which  I  wept  and  mourned,  and  was  kept  out  of  the 
church,  because  I  could  not  do  more  than  Christ  required.  I  was 
required  to  give  a  Christian  experience  before  I  was  a  Christian.  I 
was  required  to  tell  whether  I  was  elected  before  I  obeyed  Christ.  I 
was  required  to  subscribe  to  a  creed;  but  I  knew  nothing  but  what 
the  Bible  taught.  Verily,  I  had  taken,  in  my  ignorance,  the  Bible, 
the  whole  Bible,  and  nothing  but  the  Bible.  And  here  was  a  great 
teacher  advocating  the  Bible  alone  for  a  creed  and  rule  of  practice.  I 
had  learned  more  of  Bible  truth  in  this  one  sermon,  from  this  great 
teacher,  than  I  had  learned  in  all  my  life  before  from  the  Baptist  pul- 
pit. O  how  beautiful  were  the  truths  of  the  Bible  as  told  by  this 
wonderful  man.  His  words  were  like  pearls  dropped  from  his  lips; 
they  were  pearls  of  great  price  to  me. 

After  the  morning  service,  we  adjourned  to  a  room  in  the  basement, 
called  the  "l^ove-room,"  to  have  a  mug  of  warm  coffee,  and  a  cracker 
and  cheese,  and  a  social  chat  for  a  half  hour,  before  partaking  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  in  the  afternoon.  A  wonderful  change  had  come  over 
me.  I  seemed  to  be  reconverted,  at  least  everything  appeared  in  a 
new  light.  The  programme  I  had  marked  out  for  myself  on  leaving 
New  South  Wales  was  laid  aside.  O  if  I  could  only  sit  at  the  feet  of 
this  great  teacher,  as  did  Mary  of  Bethany  sit  at  the  feet  of  her  Lord, 
I  would  be  willing  to  sacrifice  anything,  everything.  To  learn  the 
way  to  heaven  more  perfectly,  I  could  endure  any  amount  of  priva- 
tion. I  felt  that  I  could  not  do  too  much  for  Christ  and  his  cause,  if 
I  only  knew  where  to  begin,  and  how.  Here,  Lord,  take  me  and  do 
with  me  what  thou  wilt.  These  and  kindred  thoughts  occupied  my 
mind  as  I  was  passing  down  the  love-room  to  feast  the  body  after  hav- 
ing so  grand  a  spiritual  feast.  Mr.  Campbell  was  led  to  the  head  of 
the  tables,  where,  standing,  he  returned  thanks.  I  happened  to  be 
•seated  at  his  right  hand;  I  was  pleased  to  be  so  near  as  to  hear  him 
converse  with  other  gentlemen.  A  gentleman  in  the  middle  of  the 
room  rose,  with  his  coffee  and  cracker  in  hands,  and  spoke  in  highly 
eulogistic  terms  of  the  grand  sermon  we  had  had  the  privilege  of  lis- 
tening to.  Numbers,  he  said,  had  come  from  the  east  and  the  west, 
from  north  and  south,  and  if  neither  Medes  nor  Persians  were  here, 
;;ye.t  many  from  distant  parts  of  Scotland  were  here,  and  all  were  deeply 


SAD  EXPERIENCES  IX  SCOTLAND.  243 

thankful  for  the  hght  of  the  truth  that  shone  upon  their  understandings 
and  hearts  that  day,  and  he  hoped  that  all  would  return  to  their  homes 
with  a  fuller  knowledge  of  God's  love,  and  a  renewed  desire  to  love 
and  serve  him  more  faithfully. 

"Amen,"  said  Mr.  Campbell,  who  had  been  quietly  sipping  his 
coffee  while  the  highest  encomiums  were  being  passed  on  him.  He  was 
perfectly  oblivious  to  what  might  have  been  taken  for  flattery,  though 

no  flattery  was  intended  by  Mr.  N in  what  he  said.     He  spoke 

from  a  heart  overflowing  with  the  love  that  he  had  heard  held  forth  so 
eloquently  that  morning.  Nevertheless,  his  words  were  highly  com- 
plimentary, and  might  have  flattered  an  ordinary  man.  Mr.  Camp- 
bell seemed  unconscious  that  he  had  created  such  unbounded  gratitude 
in  the  hearts  of  his  hearers,  or  such  profound  admiration.  He,  how- 
ever, felt  the  importance  of  the  truths  he  had  been  setting  forth.  Here 
I  sat  beside  the  greatest  man  I  had  ever  met.  The  most  godlike  in 
grandeur  of  character,  and  most  Christ-like  in  gentleness  and  humility. 
Another  gentleman  rose  at  the  other  end  of  the  room  to  make  another 
speech.  I  did  wish  he  had  sat  still  and  allowed  Mr.  Campbell  to 
speak.  I  was  hungering  after  strong  meat ;  I  had  been  fed  on  milk 
long  enough. 

"We  all  have  been  congratulated  on  being  privileged  to  hear  the 
grand  truths  so  ably  and  eloquently  set  forth.  I  fully  coincide  with 
all  our  brother  has  said.  We  are  here  from  the  ends  of  Scotland,  but 
we  have  one  also  from  the  ends  of  the  earth." 

I  was  sorry  to  hear  of  another  stranger  besides  Mr.  Campbell  com- 
ing at  that  time.  I  wished  Mr.  Campbell  to  have  no  divided  atten- 
tions. I  had  turned  my  face  to  the  speaker.  I  as  quickly  turned  it 
from  him,  when  I  heard  him  say, 

"I  have  the  great  pleasure  to  introduce  our  Sister  Davies  from 
Australia." 

My  face  was  all  aglow,  I  was  so  taken  by  surprise.  Mr.  Campbell 
rose  from  his  seat,  gave  me  his  hand,  and  said : 

"You  are  the  lady  from  Australia." 

I  bowed,  but  could  not  speak.  There  was  a  general  hum  through 
the  room;  several  gentlemen  came  up,  and  we  were  introduced  form- 
ally. We  had  several  invitations  to  dine  at  different  places.  Mr. 
Campbell,  still  kindly  holding  my  hand,  looked  down  into  my  face 
with  such  a  pleasant  smile,  and  said: 

"Where  this  lady  goes  I  will  go;  where  she  dines  there  will  I  dine." 

I  looked  up  with  a  feeling  of  awe  to  his  smiling  face,  and  wondered 


244  '^^^  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

if  he  were  omniscient,  and  had  read  my  resohition  in  my  face,  or 
knew  my  thoughts  while  I  was  mentally  quoting  Ruth,  while  he  was 
preaching.  This  was  a  foolish  thought,  but  I  was  so  absorbed  that  I 
hardly  knew  what  to  think.  However,  before  he  let  my  hand  go,  I 
told  him  that  I  purposed  going  to  America.  I  sealed  my  resolution  by 
expressing  it.  The  Lord's  Supper  was  dispensed  in  the  afternoon.  My 
heart  was  full  of  joy  on  this  occasion.  Mr.  Henshall  preached  at 
night.  A  great  number  of  gentlemen  dined  with  Mr.  Campbell  that 
day,  and  great  themes  were  discussed,  deeply  interesting  to  all.  I 
seemed  to  be  in  an  atmosphere  of  intellectual,  moral  and  religious 
light.  I  had  no  desire  to  talk.  I  could  not,  if  I  would;  the  subjects 
were  all  beyond  my  reach,  but  I  was  reaching  after  them.  Mr.  Camp- 
bell asked  me  a  great  many  questions  about  Australia,  and  compelled 
me  in  a  measure  to  talk  some.  He  told  me  he  was  glad  to  know  that 
I  was  going  to  America.  He  hoped  I  would  find  my  way  to  Bethany, 
his  home,  before  I  settled  anywhere.  To  be  near  this  great  and  god- 
like man,  to  hear  him  preach,  teach  or  talk,  was  a  boon  for  which 
nothing  on  earth  could  compensate,  so  I  felt  and  thought,  and  the 
invitation  to  come  to  his  home  was  more  than  I  could  have  dreamed 
of.  But  God  was  guiding  me.  One  week  before  this  time,  Mr.  Campbell 
was  most  severely  criticised  unheard;  but  now  men  hung  upon  his 
life-giving  words  as  they  had  never  done  with  man  before.  His  wis- 
dom surpassed  that  of  all  other  men,  and  were  all  who  heard  him  that 
day  to  try  to  tell  all  they  learned  from  him,  the  half  could  not  be  told. 
Happy  are  they  who  are  privileged  to  hear  him  at  all  times,  I  thought. 
I  told  my  cousin  that  I  had  determined  to  go  to  America.  He  was 
taken  by  surprise,  and  asked  me  why  this  sudden. resolve.  I  told  him 
such  preaching,  such  teaching,  I  had  never  heard;  such  hght  and 
beauty  thrown  around  the  great  truths  of  the  Bible.  I  thought  no 
other  man  could  or  would  teach  the  sublime  and  simple  story  of  the 
cross  and  our  salvation  with  so  much  love  and  power,  as  did  Mr. 
Campbell.  I  thought  he  had  more  of  the  spirit  of  Christ  than  any 
living  man.  The  people  over  whom  he  has  influence  must  be  more 
pious,  more  God-fearing,  God-loving,  better  every  way,  than  any  I 
know.  They  must  love  the  world  and  its  fashions  less,  and  be  more 
self-denying,  and  willing  to  do  more  and  suffer  more  for  Christ,  than 
any  other  people.  I  wish  to  cast  in  my  lot  with  them,  and  live  for  a 
■  higher  purpose  than  I  have  done. 

"You  are  a  young  enthusiast,  and  may  live  to  regret  your  hasty  act, 


SAD  EXPERIENCES  IN  SCOTLAND. 


245 


if  you  go;  but  we  will  try  to  persuade  you  to  stay  with  us.     Have 
you  told  Mr.  Campbell  of  your  intention?" 

"Yes;  but  I  did  not  give  him  my  reason,  for  he,  like  you,  might 
say  that  I  was  an  enthusiast,  and  try  to  dissuade  me;  but  I  have  re- 
solved. I  do  not  wish  to  talk  about  it,  only  to  say  that  I  am  going, 
and  make  my  preparations  to  suit  my  new  programme." 

In  private  conversation,  Mr.  Campbell's  words  seemed  to  be  in- 
spired; his  themes  were  lofty;  but  he  won  all  hearts  by  his  winning 
gentleness,  and  when  he  left  Paisley,  he  had  a  perfect  ovation.  In 
fact,  his  journey  through  Scotland  was  more  like  the  triumphal  march 
of  a  conquering  hero,  than  that  of  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel.  Christ, 
while  on  earth,  drew  crowds  after  him,  because  he  preached  to  them 
the  words  of  life;  he  taught  as  never  man  taught,  and  ]\Ir.  Campbell 
was  a  faithful  follower  and  copier  of  his  Master. 

The  Baptist  Church  to  which  my  cousin  ministered  looked  well  after 
its  members.  If  any  were  absent  from  sickness,  they  were  visited,  and 
administered  unto;  were  they  absent,  and  could  give  no  good  reasons, 
they  were  reprimanded.  Now,  on  the  day  that  Mr.  Campbell 
preached,  not  one  of  the  old  fathers  of  this  orthodox  church  was  pres- 
ent, though  their  sons  and  daughters  were.  Of  course,  they  were 
called  upon  by  the  proper  authorities,  to  give  an  account  of  themselves 
on  that  day.  None  had  the  excuse  of  sickness,  to  keep  them  away, 
but  all  of  them  found  it  convenient  to  leave  the  town  on  business  just 
at  that  time,  and  did  not  return  till  after  Sunday.  This  being  a  good 
reason,  they  could  not  be  disciplined.  The  good  old  men,  faithful  to 
their  prejudices,  could  not  come  home  in  time  to  hear  the  revolutionist. 

I  was  invited  to  dine  with  Mr.  Campbell  at  Glasgow,  at  the  house  of 
Mr.  Patton.  There  were  several  gentlemen  present,  Avho  left  early,  as 
Mr.  Campbell  was  to  have  an  artist  to  come  and  take  his  likeness.  I 
was  especially  invited  to  sit  by  Mr.  Campbell  while  the  artist  was  at 
work.  He  said  he  had  taken  a  great  interest  in  me,  for  which  I  was 
most  profoundly  thankful.  He  soon  found  out  that  I  knew  very  little 
about  America,  and  that  I  had  no  acquaintance  with  any  person  in  it. 
Again  he  gave  me  a  very  pressing  invitation  to  visit  Bethany,  ere  I 
located  any  where;  but  if  I  preferred  any  other  part  of  the  United 
States  to  Bethany,  he  would  give  me  letters  of  introduction  to  the 
brethren,  who  would  be  attentive  to  my  wants  and  wishes. 

"But  it  would  give  me  great  pleasure  were  you  to  come  to  Bethany 
first." 

To  go  to  Bethany,  the  home  of  Mr.  Campbell,  was  of  all  places  the 


246  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

one  I  should  prefer  to  visit  first,  and  I  found  courage  to  say  so  for  the 
first  time,  though  he  had  asked  me  several  times.  My  veneration  was 
so  profound,  and  my  opinion  so  exalted,  of  the  great  teacher,  that  I 
could  hardly  speak  to  him,  only  listen.  When  he  condescended  to 
speak  to  me  on  my  own  affairs,  and  took  an  interest  in  them,  and  spoke 
in  so  kind  and  gentle  a  manner  to  me,  the  awe  melted  away,  and  I  felt 
at  ease  in  his  presence.  He  gave  me  more  information  about  America 
than  I  ever  had  before.  He  gave  me  directions,  which  way  to  travel 
after  landing  on  the  Western  Hemisphere,  to  reach  Bethany.  He  en- 
tered into  the  smallest  detail,  as  if  it  had  been  a  great  one.  He  said 
he  was  going  to  fill  appointments  in  Ireland,  then  go  to  England  on  his 
way  home,  and  if  I  could  join  him  there,  we  could  sail  in  company. 
This  arrangement  would  have  been  delightful,  but  I  could  not  make  it. 
I  had  to  visit  different  parts  of  Scotland,  and  Mr.  Campbell's  time  was 
too  short  for  me.  I  said  I  would  hurry,  and  follow  him  in  the  next 
vessel.  The  more  I  saw  and  heard  him,  the  more  firmly  I  was  con- 
vinced that  my  resolution  to  go  to  America,  to  be  near  his  people,  and 
hear  him  preach,  was  right.  To  leave  all,  and  follow  him,  that  I  might 
be  benefited  spiritually,  seemed  a  small  matter.  The  day  that  Mr. 
Campbell  was  to  sail  for  Ireland,  my  cousin  and  several  other  gentle- 
men spent  with  him  at  Mr.  Patton's.  I  was  to  start  to  a  distant  part 
of  Scotland  in  a  stage-coach,  a  few  hours  ere  he  sailed  for  the  Emerald 
Isle.  We  were  not  to  meet  again  until  we  had  crossed  the  Atlantic 
Ocean.  Mr.  Campbell  had  entered  into  my  affairs  with  a  feeling  of 
sympathy,  that  was  gratifying  to  a  bruised  spirit.  Now  he  seemed  to 
seek  the  sympathy  he  had  so  freely  given.  He  told  me  he  was  in  some 
trouble,  that  gave  him  grief;  but  he  began,  in  a  playful  manner,  to 
tell  me  of  a  dream  that  he  dreamed  the  night  before. 

"I  dreamed  that  I  had  lost  a  tooth."  He  smiled,  and  said:  "Were 
I  superstitious,  as  your  countrymen  are,  I  would  say  that  I  had  lost  a 
friend.  I  felt  on  Saturday  a  feeling  of  depression  of  spirit,  that  is  far 
from  natural  to  me,  as  I  am  not  of  a  desponding  nature.  However,  I 
felt  as  if  some  great  calamity  was  hanging  over  me.  I  spoke  of  the 
feeling  to  sister  Patton  and  her  son  at  the  time,  that  was  on  the  4th  of 
September,  1847.'     I  took  a  note  of  it;  to-day  is  Monday,  the  6th." 

Just  here  I  will  say,  I  think  it  a  most  wonderful  coincidence,  that  at 
the  time  he  felt  so  depressed  in  spirit,  as  if  a  great  calamity  hung  over 
him,  there  was,  indeed,  in  his  American  home  a  sad  event  occurring. 
On  that  very  Saturday,  his  second  son,  a  most  beloved,  because  a  most 
promising,  boy  of  eleven  years  old,  was  drowned.     He  went  out  with 


SAD  EXPERIENCES  IN  SCOTLAND.  247 

two  Other  boys  to  bathe  in  the  creek;  they  went  into  a  deep  pool  be- 
fore the  apron  of  the  milldam,  as  the  creek  was  low.  After  the  boys 
had  bathed,  they  were  diving  under  and  coming  up  at  the  other  side 
of  a  boat.  Wickliffe  had  gone  down,  but  failed  to  come  up,  as  the 
other  boys  had  done  in  safety.  The  alarm  was  given,  but  half  an  hour 
elapsed  ere  his  body  was  found  under  the  apron  of  the  milldam.  To 
restore  him,  everything  that  skill  and  affection  could  devise  was  tried, 
but  all  in  vain.  The  spirit  had  gone  to  Him  who  gave  it,  and  the 
family  plunged  into  the  deepest  grief.  Mr.  Campbell's  absence  caused 
the  blow  to  fall  very  heavily  on  the  deeply  afflicted  mother,  who  now 
experienced  her  first  great  sorrow.  She  had  naturally  a  melancholy 
disposition,  and  this  event  developed  it  in  all  its  force,  so  that  neither 
the  hopes  and  consolations  of  religion,  nor  Christian  sympathy,  could 
soothe  or  allay  her  great  grief. 

After  Mr.  Campbell's  morning  levee,  it  was  proposed  that  we  should 
visit  the  Necropolis,  and  we  wended  our  way  to  this  city  of  the  dead. 
We  crossed  the  "Bridge  of  Sighs,"  near  the  old  cathedral,  where  the 
waters  of  the  Molindinar  Burn  rush  tumultuously  over  an  artificial  cas- 
cade into  a  deep  ravine.  The  bridge  to  the  entrance  of  the  Necropolis 
had  to  be  crossed  by  those  who  were  carrying  their  dead  to  their  last 
resting-place,  hence,  the  name,  "Bridge  of  Sighs."  And  though  sad 
were  the  feelings,  and  heavy  the  sighs,  of  those  who  had  left  their  loved 
ones  to  sleep,  yet  the  gloom  and  horror  of  the  bridge  of  the  same  name 
at  Venice  did  not  obtain  here.  This  was  a  beautiful  and  pleasant 
place  to  visit,  and  so  said  all  the  strangers  present.  Amid  beautiful 
shrubbery,  and  well-laid-out  grounds,  stand  elegant  monuments.  Mr. 
Campbell  said  that  he  used  to  visit  this  spot  forty  years  ago,  when  he 
was  at  college.  We  returned  to  Mr.  Patton's,  where  several  more 
gentlemen  came  to  bid  the  illustrious  visitor  good-bye.  Mr.  Campbell 
was  plied  with  important  questions  on  subjects  of  vital  import.  I  won- 
dered that  he  never  tired  talking.  He  was  most  affable  and  unaffected 
and  brilliant  in  conversation,  and  kept  his  hearers  always  spell-bound. 
He  was  certainly  revolutionizing  their  stereotyped  manner  of  thought, 
and  laying  the  foundation  for  great  reform.  My  time  to  leave  had 
come,  and  Mr.  Campbell  did  me  the  honor  to  accompany  me  to  the 
coach-office,  and  put  me  on  board  the  coach.  On  leaving  Mr.  Patton's, 
all  the  gentlemen  followed  suit,  and  a  long  line  came  tramp,  tramp 
down  the  stairs.  Mr.  Campbell  turned  round  when  he  reached  the 
hall,  and  said,  in  a  most  f)lcasant,  smiling  manner : 


248  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE, 

"The  Campbell's  are  coming,  oh,  ho!  oh,  ho!"  which  created  a 
smile.     "And  still  they  come." 

When  he  put  me  in  the  coach  that  was  to  take  me  to  a  distant  part, 
he  said: 

"I  shall  write  to  you  from  Ireland." 

I  paid  my  friends  a  short  visit,  and  returned  much  sooner  than  I  had 
intended.  I  was  in  haste  to  get  through  with  my  visits.  I  had  in- 
tended to  spend  a  few  days  with  a  Presbyterian  cousin  at  Paisley,  when 
I  returned.  When  I  reached  his  house,  and  had  taken  off  my  wraps, 
my  cousin  asked : 

"What  have  you  done  with  your  great  Mr.  Campbell?" 

I  answered:  "He  is  in  Ireland.  I  parted  with  him  three  hours  be- 
fore he  was  to  sail." 

"Ha!  ha!  So  you  think  your  great  and  good  man  is  in  Ireland," 
said  he,  with  a  withering  sneer.  "I  tell  you  he  is  in  Glasgow  Bridewell, 
where  he,  and  all  such  as  he,  ought  to  be." 

The  blood  rushed  to  my  temples  at  the  unfeeling  speech.     I  asked: 

"Where  is  he  in  prison?     And  for  what  is  he  in  prison? 

"In  Glasgow,  and  for  libel  against  one  of  our  good  Presbyterian 
ministers." 

"Robertson?"  I  asked. 

"Yes;"  he  answered. 

"If  Mr.  Campbell,  that  high-toned  Christian  gentleman,  be  in 
prison,  he  is  a  persecuted  man,  falsely  imprisoned,  and  whoever  he  or 
they  be  who  have  done  this  vile  deed,  shall  surely  be  sorry  for  it,"  I 
said. 

' '  We  are  not  a  persecuting  people  in  Scotland.  We  do  not  put 
men  in  prison  for  their  good  deeds,  and  Mr.  Campbell  has  unveiled 
his  character  at  last,  and  he  stands  out  in  a  different  guise  than  he  did. 
I  hope  your  insane  desire  to  follow  the  impostor  to  America  will  be 
cured,  and  you  will  remain  where  you  are  among  respectable  j^eople." 

I  could  stand  the  bitter  tirade  against  the  noble  man  no  longer.  I 
rose  and  faced  my  cousin,  and  said,  with  all  the  emphasis  in  my 
power ; 

' '  I  tell  you  what,  I  would  rather  trust  Mr.  Campbell  with  my  prop- 
erty, life,  and  even  my  soul's  safety,  than  trust  you  or  all  the  respect- 
able people  of  whom  you  speak.  You  are  defamers,  and  false 
accusers,  and  persecutors ;  but  God  will  punish  you  all,  if  you  do  not 
repent.  He  says,  '  Vengeance  is  mine ;  I  will  repay. '  Now,  I  am 
going  to  Glasgow,  to  the  jDrison,  and  if  all  Scotland  rise  up  and  perse- 


SAD  EXPERIENCES  IN  SCOTLAND.  249 

cute  Mr.  Campbell  to  the  death,  I  shall  stand  by  him  to  the  last.  I 
do  not  doubt  him.  When  Christ,  his  Master,  was  on  earth,  he  was 
doubted  and  mocked,  and  falsely  accused,  and  persecuted  for  libel, 
and  when  his  false  friends  fell  away  from  him,  a  few  faithful  women 
stood  by  the  persecuted  Savior  of  mankind,  and  I  shall  follow  the 
example  of  these  good  women,  and  what  they  did  for  Christ,  I  shall, 
as  far  as  is  in  my  power,  do  for  his  faithful  servant." 

"Ha!  ha!"  again  burst  from  this  cynic;  "he  will  only  be  punished 
for  his  bad  deeds,  that  is  all." 

"I  am  weary  and  disgusted  with  your  talk;  I  shall  go  to  Mr.  Camp- 
bell, to  his  prison-cell,  and  your  respectable  house  I  shall  never  enter 
again." 

So  saying,  I  left  the  house  and  never  entered  it  again. 

I  took  the  train  for  Glasgow,  and  went  directly  to  the  prison.  I 
went  up  to  the  gate  boldly,  and  asked  for  admittance.  I  was  taken 
to  a  private  room,  and  an  old  woman  came  to  me  and  was  about  to 
search  me.  I  asked  her  what  she  meant  by  attempting  to  turn  my 
pockets  outside-in? 

"I  want  to  see  that  ye  tak  nathing  ta  the  prisoner,"  she  said. 

I  told  her  I  wished  to  see  an  American  gentleman,  and  no  criminal, 
but  one  falsely  imprisoned. 

"O,  aye,  come  awa;   I  didna  ken  wha  ye  wanted  ta  see." 

I  was  forthwith  turned  over  to  the  turnkey.  He  conducted  me  to 
the  foot  of  a  stair,  where  was  a  great  iron-studded  door,  which  was 
opened,  and  when  I  passed  through,  it  shut  with  a  bang,  and  locked 
with  a  sound,  which,  with  the  clang  of  the  ponderous  keys,  made 
my  blood  run  cold.  I  was  conducted  through  the  gloomy  corridor  to 
the  cell  of  the  distinguished  prisoner.  Here  Mr.  Campbell  held  his 
levees  as  if  he  were  in  a  palace;  here  he  received  notable  visitors. 
Just  as  I  entered  the  cell,  I  was  astonished  to  see  Mr.  Neil  (my  cousin), 
and  with  him  several  of  the  gray-haired  fathers  of  the  church  who  had 
refused  to  hear  Mr.  Campbell  preach;  but  a  revolution  had  taken 
place  in  their  minds.  They  stood  in  the  presence  of  him  whom  they 
called  a  revolutionist  with  their  heads  uncovered.  When  these  good 
men  heard  of  the  incarceration,  they  ran  to  the  rescue.  Many  of 
these  men  were  rich,  and  they  said  they  would  go  security  to  any 
amount,  rather  than  have  Mr.  Campbell  go  to  prison.  They  plead 
with  Mr.  Campbell  to  accept  their  bail,  but  he  courteously  refused. 
These  men  rallied  round  him  and  became  his  warmest,  stanchest 
friends,  though  at  first  they  refused   to  hear  his  "new-fangled  doc- 


250  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

trines."  They  determined  to  see  Mr.  Campbell  righted  if  possible. 
They  could  not  bear  to  see  a  stranger,  a  gentleman,  suffer  persecution 
without  cause.  Mr.  Campbell  had  told  me  that  he  had  trouble,  and 
on  the  day  we  parted,  he  told  me  he  had  heard  of  a  warrant  being  out 
against  him,  to  prevent  him  leaving  Scotland;  but  if  he  was  not  forci- 
bly detained  he  would  proceed  on  his  way  as  appointed.  He  was 
detained,  and  lodged  in  a  cell  in  Bridewell,  instead  of  a  cabin  on  board 
a  steamer.  Mr.  Henshall,  his  traveling  companion,  went  to  Ireland, 
and  Mr.  Campbell  to  prison.  His  incarceration  came  about  in  this 
way.  When  he  first  arrived  at  Edinburgh  he  was  kindly  received  by 
the  brethren,  many  of  whom  came  from  distant  parts  to  meet  him. 
He  preached  to  crowded  houses,  who  heard  him  gladly.  When  it 
was  known  that  he  came  from  Virginia,  nothing  seemed  more  suitable 
to  his  Presbyterian  opposers  than  to  get  up  a  furor  against  Mr,  Camp- 
bell on  the  slave  question.  The  antislavery  excitement  was  running 
high  in  Scotland  at  the  time.  To  prevent  the  crowds  from  going  to 
hear  the  truth,  as  Mr.  Campbell  proclaimed  it,  three  gentlemen  called 
upon  him  one  day,  and  in  the  most  friendly  way  asked  him  what  his 
opinion  of  slavery  was.  Their  bland  manner  and  plausible  speech 
was  intended  to  put  him  at  his  ease  and  off  his  guard,  and  to  conceal 
the  character  of  their  errand,  which  was  hostile  to  him.  He,  think- 
ing these  three  were  friends,  did  not  disguise  his  sentiments  concerning 
slavery.  He  said  he  had  no  slaves  himself,  nor  could  he  keep  them 
consistendy.  He  beheved  in  educating  the  slave  for  freedom,  and 
then  emancipating  him.  He  said  the  Bible  in  olden  time  had  sanc- 
tioned slavery.  Abraham  was  a  slave-owner,  and  the  mere  owning  of 
slaves  did  not  unchristianize  a  man.  The  laws  of  the  country  upheld 
slavery.  These  double-minded  gentry  made  their  most  polite  conges, 
bidding  a  most  friendly  good-bye  to  their  unsuspecting  victim.  A  few 
hours  later  all  Edinburgh  was  ablaze  with  flaming  placards,  with  scarlet 
letters  as  large  as  one's  hand.  "Citizens  of  Edinburgh,  Beware! 
Beware!  The  Rev.  Alexander  Campbell,  of  Virginia,  United  States 
of  America,  has  been  a  man-stealer  himself,  and  is  a  defender  of  man- 
stealers."  At  that  time  such  placards  were  calculated  to  raise  a  mob 
and  drive  any  man  from  the  city.  But  Mr.  Campbell  had  many  pro- 
tectors and  friends.  He  made  a  visit  to  Dundee  for  a  few  days,  where 
he  wrote  a  letter  to  the  editor  of  the  Edinburgh  Journal,  saying  he 
would  consent  to  have  a  debate  on  his  position  in  regard  to  the  slave 
question  in  America,  with  any  one  whom  the  Antislavery  Society 
might  appoint,  or  even  a  written  discussion. 


SAD  EXPERIENCES  IN  SCOTLAND.  25 1 

"I  will,  in  either  way,"  said  he,  "meet  any  gentleman  whom  you 
may  select,  even  Mr.  Robertson  himself,  provided,  only,  that  he  be 
not  the  Rev.  James  Robertson,  who  was  publicly  censured,  and  ex- 
cluded from  the  Baptist  Church  at  Dundee,  for  violating  the  fifth 
commandment  in  reference  to  his  mother,  of  which  I  have  heard 
somethmg  at  Dundee." 

The  editor  of  the  Edinburgh  Journal  refused  to  publish  the  letter, 
but  Mr.  Campbell's  friends  had  it  published  at  their  own  expense  in 
pamphlet  form.  At  the  next  meeting  that  Mr.  Campbell  had,  hundreds 
came  to  hear  what  the  man-stealer  had  to  say  for  himself;  hundreds 
came  to  hear  the  great  and  good  man  preach  the  everlasting  gospel, 
and  hundreds  more,  like  the  Athenians  of  old,  came  to  hear  some 
new  thing.  The  largest  hall  in  Edinburgh  was  filled;  every  window- 
sill,  nook  and  aisle  was  packed.  It  was  estimated  that  from  6,000  to 
7,000  were  present  on  the  occasion.  Before  Mr.  Campbell  addressed 
the  vast  assembly,  he  told  them  that  the  placards  printed  and  posted 
everywhere  on  the  streets  and  lanes  of  all  the  cities  and  towns  he 
attempted  to  preach  at,  were  false  and  calumnious.  He  also  read  the 
letter  to  them  that  he  had  written  to  the  Edinburgh  Journal,  whose 
editor  had  refused  to  publish  it.  The  allusion  to  a  Rev.  James  Rob- 
ertson so  exasperated  the  reverend  gentleman  who  had  called  on  Mr. 
Campbell,  that  he  based  a  suit  against  Mr.  Campbell  for  libel ;  dam- 
ages, ;^5,ooo;  thus  coming  to  the  front  and  acknowledging  himself 
to  be  the  man  who  abused  his  mother.  Three  Rev.  James  Robertsons 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  being  in  the  city,  of  course  Mr.  Camp- 
bell could  not  tell  which  was  he ;  but  now  he  stood  confessed. 

The  Antislavery  Society  thanked  the  Rev.  J.  Robertson  for  placard- 
ing Mr.  Campbell,  as  they  believed  his  report  correct.  Now  a  mali- 
cious feeling  took  possession  of  the  reverend  gentleman,  and  he 
determined  to  hunt  down,  like  a  wild  beast,  the  man  he  could  not  in- 
jure by  his  lies.  Mr.  Campbell  went  on,  on  his  mission  of  peace  and 
good  will  to  man.  He  came  to  Glasgow  and  found  himself  pleasantly 
situated  at  the  home  of  Mr.  Patton.  He  preached  to  a  large  assem- 
bly at  Glasgow,  who  inclined  to  be  uproarious  at  first,  but  quieted 
down  under  the  powerful  influence  of  the  speaker.  While  in  Glasgow, 
he  received  a  summons  to  appear  before  the  Sheriff's  court  on  a  charge 
of  libel.  A  hue  and  cry  was  raised  by  the  reverend  gentleman  that 
Mr.  Campbell  was  about  to  fieethe  country  and  from  justice;  hence  a 
warrant  was  presented  to  him  to  prevent  him  filling  his  appointments, 
at  the  instance  of  the  reverend  persecutor.     Also,  to  prevent  the  peo- 


252  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

pie  from  going  to  hear  the  grand  old  gospel  preached,  the  vile,  lying 
placards  were  posted  on  the  corners  of  all  the  streets.  The  first  I  saw 
was  in  great  red  letters,  "Beware!  Beware!  of  the  Rev.  Alexander 
Campbell,  President  of  Bethany  College,  Virginia,  United  States  of 
America.  A  Man-stealer;  A  Friend  of  Slaveholders,  and  an  Abettor 
of  Slavery."  When  I  saw  these  flaming  words  all  over  Glasgow  I  was 
indignant;  I  was  ashamed.  When  I  entered  the  stone  cell  in  which 
the  grand  old  man  was  confined,  I  was  so  ashamed  of  my  country 
that  for  a  few  minutes  I  could  not  speak.  When  I  found  voice,  I 
said: 

"Oh,  Mr.  Campbell,  Scotland  never  did  this  disgraceful  act.  One 
man  or  a  few  men  may  have  been  so  wicked  as  to  persecute  you,  but 
,  Scodand  will  yet  vindicate  you,  and  do  you  honor,  and  your  incarcer- 
'ation  will  redound  to  the  everlasting  disgrace  of  the  one  or  the  few 
who  have  dared  to  persecute  you.  I  have  come  to  stand  by  you  to 
the  last,  as  did  a  few  faithful  women  by  their  Master  when  he  was 
betrayed  and  forsaken  by  false  friends.  The  women  practiced  what 
He  had  taught  them,  and  I  wish  to  show  that  I  have  been  benefited 
by  your  teaching." 

"And  I  do  most  assuredly  appreciate  your  motives.  They  do  honor 
to  the  Christian's  heart,  and  if,  by  reason  of  my  imprisonment,  I  can 
not  preach  in  public,  I  can  write,"  said  he,  putting  his  hand  on  a  piece 
of  paper,  that  was  lying  on  the  table  beside  him. 

"Well,"  I  said,  "your  writings  will  be  read  everywhere;  a  knowl- 
edge of  your  unjust  treatment  will  touch  the  hearts  of  my  country  peo- 
ple; a  reaction  will  take  place,  and  all  Scotland  will  yet  call  you 
blessed.  *  Your  persecutors  may  hate  you  all  the  more,  when  they  find 
themselves  baffled." 

Mr.  Campbell  smiled.      "You  prophesy  well;  be  it  so." 

The  cell  was  about  seven  feet  square,  with  an  arched  roof  of  stone, 
as  well  as  walls  and  floor,  a  very  narrow  window,  high  up  in  the  wall, 
strongly  barred  with  iron,  and  two  very  large  hooks  fastened  into  the 
walls  opposite  each  other.  The  furniture  was  a  very  little  table  and 
a  very  small  bench;  the  bench  I  sat  on,  while  Mr.  Campbell  sat,  or 
rather  leaned,  on  the  table.  A  piece  of  carpet,  the  size  of  a  pocket 
handkerchief,  was  on  the  floor.  Oh,  this  is  dreadful,  I  thought,  and 
tears  filled  my  eyes.  I  looked  at  the  huge  hooks  in  the  walls,  and 
wondered  if  they  were  to  chain  felons  to.  He  seemed  to  be  able  to 
read  my  thoughts.     He  touched  the  hooks,  and  said : 

"I  feel  the  cell  cold,  having  no  fire-place,  and  I  can  not  lie  down  in 


SAD  EXPERIENCES  IN  SCOTLAND.  253 

the  daytime,  if  I  felt  the  need  of  it;  I  have  no  sofa,  as  you  see,  no  bed. 
But  my  valet  de  chambre  comes  into  my  cell  at  night,  and  hangs  on  these 
hooks  my  hammock,  in  which  I  lie  comfortably  till  morning." 

"Why,"  I  asked,  "do  you  stay  here  one  hour,  when  your  Paisley 
friends  are  so  anxious  to  go  your  security  to  set  you  free?" 

The  reason,  he  said,  that  he  had  preferred  to  go  to  prison  was,  that 
he  would  by  so  doing  see  how  far  the  superlative  philanthropists,  the 
antislavery  society  of  Scotland,  would  persecute  a  preacher  of  the 
Gospel  of  Christ  for  his  opinions,  which  are  his  own  property.  A  man 
their  equal,  of  their  own  race,  and  educated  in  their  midst,  they  are 
persecuting;  while  they  are  advocating  liberty  to  the  negro,  an  infe- 
rior, in  a  foreign  land,  that  they  know  but  little  about. 

"As  you  have  said,  I  may  serve  my  master,  by  patiently  enduring, 
like  a  Christian,  this  persecution.  I  feel  perfectly  happy  here,  though 
not  surrounded  by  comforts  as  if  at  home.  But  I  am  in  the  Lord's 
hand,  and  I  am  willing  to  suffer  for  his  sake." 

I  left  that  gloomy  prison  with  mingled  feelings  of  love  and  admira- 
tion for  the  Christian  fortitude  of  the  great  man,  great  in  every  respect, 
and  indignation  for  the  mean,  sycophantic,  persecuting  Robertson. 
But  what  could  be  expected  from  a  man,  even  a  reverend,  who  could 
ill-treat  his  mother.  Mr.  Campbell  had  done  nothing  worthy  of  im- 
prisonment. He  had  been  publicly  insulted,  and  he  wished  not  to 
leave  the  prison  till  those  who  ordered  him  to  it  should  release  him. 
But  he  was  not  left  to  the  horrors  of  solitary  confinement,  for  his  many 
friends  from  all  parts  of  Scotland  flocked  to  visit  him.  The  sisters 
Fatten,  Gilmore,  Dron  and  myself  were  the  lady  visitors  at  the  prison, 
and  all  vied  with  each  other  to  make  him  comfortable.  The  jailor  was 
very  indulgent.  The  law  only  allowed  two  persons  in  the  cell  at  one 
time,  and  only  two  hours  in  the  day;  but  ten  and  twelve  persons  were 
admitted  at  once,  and  at  all  hours  of  the  day.  Mr.  Campbell  was 
serene  and  cheerful  through  it  all,  writing,  when  he  had  a  little  time 
alone,  and  teaching,  when  he  had  an  audience,  which  he  often  had. 

The  trial  came  on,  and  when  Mr.  Campbell  appeared  before  Lord 
Murray,  he  was  quite  unwell,  from  the  want  of  a  fire  in  his  cell,  and 
room  to  exercise.  He  had  taken  a  bad  cold.  Lord  Murray  heard  the 
case,  pronounced  the  warrant  illegal,  and  ordered  Mr.  Campbell  to  be 
discharged  honorably,  to  the  great  chagrin  of  Mr.  Robertson.  Paisley 
was  the  first  place  he  preached  at  after  his  liberation.  Here  he  had 
loyal  and  true  friends.  All  the  dear  old  men,  who  ran  away  from  him 
at  first,  clustered  round  him  now,  doing  all  they  could  to  honor  him. 


254  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

The  first  sermon  he  preached  was  in  the  Baptist  Church.    No  absentees 
this  time;  the  large  house  was  crowded  in  every  part. 

Mr.  Campbell  prefaced  his  discourse  by  a  thrilling  account  of  his 
imprisonment,  and  its  cause.  He  read  the  letter  that  he  had  written 
to  the  Edinburgh  Journal.  He  was  listened  to  with  the  most  profound 
attention  and  breathless  silence  for  a  time;  but  the  deep  emotion  of 
the  crowd  could  not  be  suppressed.  Every  eye  was  full  of  tears,  and 
here  and  there  a  sob  would  burst  out,  and  now  and  then  a  suppressed 
groan  would  be  heard.  It  was  with  difficulty  that  Mr.  Campbell  pro- 
ceeded with  his  discourse;  he  was  so  hoarse  from  the  cold  he  had 
taken  in  the  cell.  The  fathers  in  Israel  were  sitting  with  bowed  heads 
weeping,  with  their  faces  buried  in  their  handkerchiefs.  That  day  is 
never  to  be  forgotten.  At  leave-taking,  many  wept  sore,  because  they 
would  see  his  face  no  more  on  earth.  He  was  to  preach  at  Glasgow 
that  night,  and  so  was  driven  back  in  a  private  carriage  to  fill  his  ap- 
pointment. He  was  followed  by  a  very  large  number  of  friends.  With 
his  large  retinue,  he  entered  the  crowded  hall,  which  was  the  largest  in 
the  city.  Upon  rising  to  speak,  he  had  completely  lost  his  voice. 
Doctor  Watson,  a  member  of  the  church  at  Glasgow,  that  I  joined  ere 
I  left  home,  was  President  of  the  Antislavery  Society,  and  was  for- 
merly a  fellow  student  of  Mr.  Campbell's  at  the  Royal  College,  at 
Glasgow.  The  doctor  had  resigned  his  chair  in  the  society,  because 
Rev.  Robertson  persecuted  Mr.  Campbell  from  personal  revenge,  under 
pretense  that  he  was  serving  the  society,  and  that  it  upheld  him  in  all 
his  acts.  The  doctor,  being  in  the  hall,  was  called  up  to  the  platform. 
He  discovered  that  Mr.  Campbell  was  laboring  under  a  high  degree  of 
fever,  and  not  fit  to  exert  himself,  either  mentally  or  physically.  He 
therefore  informed  the  people  that  Mr.  Campbell  was  quite  ill,  and  un- 
fit to  preach,  and  as  no  one  present  was  able  to  take  his  place,  he 
would  take  the  liberty  to  dismiss  the  audience.  The  vast  assembly 
went  out  in  sadness  and  silence.  Mr.  Campbell  resigned  himself  to 
his  friends,  who  took  charge  of  him  that  night,  and  nursed  him.  He 
purposed  going  to  Ireland  next  day,  but  his  friends  said  he  must  not 
go  for  two  reasons:  first,  he  was  too  sick;  second,  the  Rev.  J.  Robert- 
son, incensed  at  the  Court  pronouncing  his  warrant  illegal,  consequently 
the  imprisonment  equally  so,  appealed  to  a  higher  court,  and  had  a 
second  warrant  out,  ready  to  take  him  at  the  point  of  departure.  The 
friends  of  Mr.  Campbell  knew  all  the  secret  movements  of  the  Rev.  J. 
Robertson,  and  determined  to  protect  him,  whether  he  would  or  not. 


SAD  EXPERIENCES  IN  SCOTLAND. 


255 


So  one  of  the  gentlemen  playfully  put  his  hand  on  Mr.  Campbell's 
shoulder,  and  said: 

"In  the  name  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  I  hold  you  a  prisoner." 

"Well,"  said  he,  "if  I  am  to  be  a  prisoner,  I  may  as  well  be  one  to 
my  friends,  as  one  to  my  enemies.     I  submit." 

He  was  carried  to  a  friend's  house,  a  few  miles  from  town,  where, 
with  good  nursing,  and  good  company,  he  soon  recovered  sufficiently 
to  resume  his  labors.  Through  all  this  time  of  trouble,  sickness  and 
persecution,  he  never  was  heard  to  utter  one  word  of  complaint  against 
the  laws  of  the  land,  or  against  his  vindictive  pursuer.  He  believed 
he  was  suffering  for  the  truth,  and  was  happy  to  be  found  worthy  to 
suffer. 

A  small  vessel  was  found  about  to  sail  for  Ireland.  A  few  friends 
accompanied  Mr.  Campbell  in  this  vessel,  and  landed  him  safe  on  the 
Irish  shore.  The  Rev.  J.  Robertson  was  foiled ;  his  emissaries  had  to 
return  empty-handed.  They  said  "the  bird  had  flown."  This  was  on 
the  14th  of  September,  and  the  second  trial  was  to  come  on  at  the 
November  term.  Mr.  Campbell  was  at  his  own  home,  among  the  hills 
of  Bethany,  ere  the  time  came.  The  day  arrived,  and  the  case  Avas 
tried  before  all  the  Lords  of  the  Court  of  Sessions.  In  this  Court,  the 
highest  in  Scotland,  the  decision  of  Lord  Murray  was  confirmed,  and 
the  prosecutor,  the  Rev.  J.  Robertson,  was  condemned  to  pay  the  costs 
of  both  sides,  which  was  now  a  large  sum.  Besides,  the  Lord  Justice 
General,  Lord  FuUerton,  Lord  McKenzie,  and  the  celebrated  Lord 
Jeffries,  gave  their  concurring  opinion.  The  Rev.  J.Robertson,  in  fear 
and  trembling,  offered  to  withdraw  the  suit  for  damages,  if  Mr.  Camp- 
bell's friends  would  pay  one-half  the  costs.  This  they  would  not  do, 
as  he  could  not  prove  a  libel.  Although  the  whole  Court  of  Queen's 
Bench  had  decided  against  him,  yet  he  wished  it  understood  that  Mr. 
Campbell  had  escaped  from  justice  on  the  first  trial  by  some  informal- 
ity. The  friends  of  Mr.  Campbell,  and  they  were  many,  compelled 
Mr.  Robertson  to  try  the  case  on  its  own  merits,  and  suit  was  brought 
against  him  for  false  imprisonment.  The  pit  which  was  dug  for  the 
illustrious  stranger,  by  the  Rev.  J.  Robertson,  he  ignominiously  fell 
into  himself.  Finally  he  was  compelled  to  hear  Mr.  Campbell  cleared 
and  justified,  and  he  was  condemned  to  pay  all  costs  and  ^2,000,  or 
$10,000,  damages  to  Mr.  Campbell  for  false  imprisonment.  To  avoid 
paying,  and  the  alternative  of  going  to  prison,  he  absconded.  His  dis- 
grace was  complete,  when  he  fled  the  kingdom,  and  those  who  supported 


256  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

him  in  his  mad  mahce  had  to  pay  for  it.  They  were  now  reaping  the 
fruit  of  their  labors,  and  it  was  well  earned  and  richly  deserved. 

One  evening,  a  few  months  after  Mr.  Campbell  left  Scotland,  I  was 
sitting  with  him  in  his  favorite  parlor,  at  his  dear  Bethany  home,  Avhen 
the  mail  was  handed  to  him.  He  looked  over  the  post-marks,  and 
selected  a  foreign  letter  to  read. 

"Sister  Davies,  I  shall  read  you  Brother  Patton's  letter,  as  your 
interest  in  my  Scotch  letters  is  very  great,"  he  said. 

When  he  read  the  letter  to  me,  I  fairly  clapped  my  hands  for  joy  at 
the  final  defeat  and  disgrace  of  the  dire  persecutor,  and  his  flight  to 
the  country  of  his  victim.  Mr.  Campbell  smiled  at  my  enthusiasm.  I 
I  asked  him  not  to  take  the  ten  thousand  dollars,  but  to  leave  it  to  the 
poor  of  Scotland,  and  his  honored  name  would  be  handed  down  to 
posterity  as  the  great  preacher  who  had  been  persecuted  by  a  Scotch- 
man for  the  sake  of  the  truth,  yet  the  philanthropic  friend  of  Scotch- 
men, He  told  me  that  he  had  already  refused  to  take  any  money. 
He  said  he  had  no  desire  for  revenge. 

"One  question  more,"  I  said,  "and  do  not  think  me  bold,  Mr. 
Campbell.  Suppose  Mr.  Robertson,  who  has  fled  to  this  country  in 
disgrace,  Avere  in  distress  and  should  come  to  Bethany,  would  you 
give  him  food  and  shelter?" 

"And  thereby  heap  coals  of  fire  on  his  head?"  said  Mr.  Campbell, 
laughing. 

"No,  no,  I  did  not  mean  that;  but  would  you  forgive  your  enemy, 
and  return  good  for  evil?" 

"I  think  that  in  this  case  I  shall  not  be  called  upon  to  do  anything 
for  my  enemy." 

After  Mr.  Campbell  sailed  from  Scodand,  he  Avas  not  forgetful  of 
his  promise  to  write  to  me,  though  his  engagements  might  have  exon- 
erated him  from  blame  had  he  forgotten;  but  his  word  was  sacred,  and 
he  wrote  to  give  me  more  definite  instructions  for  my  guidance  in  my 
travels.  He  also  told  me  that  two  young  gentlemen,  sons  of  a  Mr. 
Tener,  were  going  to  college  at  Bethany,  and  an  aunt  of  his  own  was 
going  to  Bethany  to  her  children,  who  were  there. 

"So  you  will  have  good  company  and  protection  by  the  way.  And 
you  will  do  well  not  to  tarry  by  the  way,  or  anywhere,  till  you  reach 
Bethany,  which  I  hope  you  intend  to  do,  and  we  shall  try  to  induce 
you  to  remain  there,  when  we  see  you  among  our  beautiful  hills." 

Again  when  he  reached  England  he  Avrote  to  me  to  say  that  the  ship 
Siddons,  in  which  he  and  Brother  Henshall  came  to  England,  was  to 


SAD  EXPERIENCES  IN  SCOTLAND.  257 

sail  in  a  few  days;  that  he  had  given  Capt.  Cobb,  the  master,  charge 
concerning  me  to  take  care  of  me  on  the  voyage ;  that  he  had  secured 

the  cabin  for  me  that  he  had  occupied  with  Brother  H ,  and  when 

I  landed  at  Liverpool,  friends  would  be  there  to  receive  me  and  attend 
to  my  re-embarkation.  Mr.  Campbell  sailed  in  the  steamer  Cambria. 
The  brethren  presented  him  and  Mr.  Henshall  each  with  a  very  large 
copy  of  the  Polyglot  Bible  before  they  left  Scodand.  I  had  a  very 
near  and  dear  friend  to  come  a  long  distance  to  see  me,  and  to  try 
to  persuade  me  not  to  go  to  America. 

"What  unheard  of  temerity  for  you  to  go  to  that  slave  country. 
Do  you  not  know  that  that  Mr.  Campbell  is  a  man-stealer,  and  he  will 
surely  sell  you  for  a  slave?  Do  not  go;  oh,  do  not  go  to  that  dread- 
ful country  if  you  value  your  liberty.  Stay  with  us;  we  will  be  kind 
and  good  to  you.     O  stay." 

Poor,  dear  Jessie  was  in  an  agony.  I  felt  inclined  to  indulge  in  a 
hearty  laugh,  but  when  I  saw  the  great  tears  rolling  down  her  cheeks 
I  forebore.  I  told  her,  however,  that  she  need  give  herself  no  con- 
cern about  me ;  I  was  not  in  the  least  danger  of  being  sold  for  a  slave. 
I  was  not  only  going  to  America,  but  to  Bethany,  the  very  home  of 
the  great  and  good  man  she  so  much  dreaded,  and  of  whom  she  knew 
nothing.  When  I  get  there,  I  shall  write  to  you  and  tell  you  how 
happy  I  am.     She  wept  sore  at  my  decision. 

"You  will  surely  repent  taking  this  step  as  long  as  you  live;  but  re- 
pentance will  come  too  late  if  once  you  cross  the  ocean.  Be  warned, 
dear  Eliza,  and  do  not  go." 

My  only  answer  was:  "I  am  going,  and  I  beg  of  you  not  to  distress 
yourself  on  my  account,  as  it  is  unnecessary." 

We  bade  each  other  farewell  in  sadness  and  tears.  She  gave  me 
up  for  lost,  and  went  away  to  her  distant  home,  and  I  to  my  prepara- 
tions to  travel  to  unknown  lands.  Jessie  and  I  have  never  met  again. 
Ere  I  departed,  I  visited  the  grand  old  Paisley  Abbey.  The  chapel 
is  kept  in  good  repair  for  public  services  on  Sunday.  While  I  walked 
through  the  aisles,  I  trod  lightly  over  the  sleepers  that  were  there. 
The  sanctity  of  death  was  in  the  place.  The  sun  shed  a  soft  and 
mellow  light  through  the  diamond-shaped,  painted  windows.  I  wan- 
dered over  every  part  of  the  ancient  edifice,"  and  then  I  ascended  to 
the  battlements,  and  looked  down  on  the  graves  of  friends  and  foes. 
How  peacefully  they  slept,  side  by  side. 

"How  still  and  jicaceful  is  the  grave,  where  life's  vain  tumults  past, 
The  appointed  house,  by  heaven's  decree,  receives  us  all  at  last." 
17 


2^8  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

I  Stood  by  my  father's  grave,  all  overgrown  with  grass,  and  won- 
dered, if  he  had  lived,  would  my  life  have  been  a  more  sheltered  one  ? 
But  I  checked  my  murmuring.  My  heavenly  Father  lived.  His  arm 
had  guided  and  protected  me  through  many  dangers.  I  knew  more 
of  him  than  I  did  of  my  earthly  parent,  whose  ashes  lay  so  peaceful 
beneath  the  tangled  grass.  Thy  trials,  dear  father,  are  over.  Thine 
eyelids  are  quiedy  closed  in  sleep,  the  sleep  that  knows  no  waking.  I 
leave  your  ashes  to  repose.     Farewell. 

My  cousin  Mrs.  Neil  accompanied  me  to  the  Carron  Clyde  Iron 
works,  where  my  dear  brother  Tom  lived.  He  had  returned  from 
India;  had  m,arried  a  sweet,  amiable,  black-haired,  black-eyed  wife, 
and  had  a  little  son,  blue-eyed  and  fair-haired,  two  years  old.  He 
superintended  some  part  of  the  gigantic  works,  and  lived  near  them. 
Tom  was  not  at  home  when  we  arrived,  but  I  had  time  to  become 
acquainted  with  his  interesting  ,wife  and  beautiful  child  meantime. 
We  told  her  not  to  intimate  to  Tom  who  I  was  till  he  should  see  me, 
and  we  could  ascertain  whether  he  would  recognize  me.  I  did  not 
apprise  them  of  my  coming  to  Scodand,  so  my  visit  was  unexpected. 
A  pleasant  welcome  awaited  Tom  when  he  came  home.  I  was  pleased 
with  the  greeting  of  the  husband  and  wife.  We,  that  is,  Tom  and  I, 
were  introduced  without  recognition  on  either  side.  He  was  not  the 
handsome,  beardless  youth,  who  had  chased  the  little  girl  around  the 
flagstaff  on  Dumbarton  Casde.  An  Indian  sun  had  bronzed  his  cheek ; 
a  forest  of  rich  wavy  brown  hair  covered  his  shapely  head,  and  a  flow- 
ing brown  beard  concealed  a  handsome  chin.  He  had  large,  lustrous 
brown  eyes,  and  a  handsome,  stalwart  frame.  Oh,  how  my  heart 
bounded  toward  my  noble  brother;  yet  I  was  shy  of  him,  he  had  so 
changed  in  appearance.  It  was  mentioned  incidentally  that  I  had 
been  to  Australia.  He  asked  me  what  part  of  Australia  I  had  been 
in;  he  said  he  had  relations  there;  did  I  know  any  of  them?  While 
he  w.as  speaking,  I  turned  my  eyes  from  his  face,  and  they  fell  on  a 
curious  litde  ornament  hanging  on  the  wall.  It  was  a  little  housewife, 
with  satin  and  velvet  pockets  embroided  on  it.  It  was  very  pretty, 
but  it  had  seen  service,  and  was  not  suitable  for  the  place  it  occupied. 
Tom,  seeing  me  look  at  the  litUe  oddity,  took  it  down  to  show  me 
how  prettily  it  was  worked  and  made. 

"My  little  sister  made  that  for  me  before  I  went  to  India;  dear 
.little  Eliza.     She  is  in  Australia  now,"  he  said. 

I  could  contain  no  longer,  and  I  said : 

"No,  Tom,"— 


SAD  EXPERIEN'CES  IX  SCOTLAND.  259 

I  could  say  no  more.  He  turned  his  great  brown  eyes  full  on  my 
face  J  the  tone  had  touched  a  chord  in  his  heart,  and  it  vibrated. 

"Good  G — dl  are  you  my  little  Eliza?"  he  exclaimed. 

I  bowed  my  head,  and  was  instantly  folded  in  the  strong  man"s 
loving  arms,  and  face  and  head  covered  with  kisses.  He  took  me  on 
his  knee,  stroked  my  head  and  toyed  with  my  hair,  saying: 

**My  dear  little  sister,  you  have  come  back  to  me." 

He  made  me  tell  him  all  that  had  happened  to  me  since  we  parted. 
He  was  astonished  at  the  child's  experience.  He  could  not  realize 
that  I  was  anything  but  the  child  he  had  played  with  a  few  years  ago. 
He  said  I  was  his  now;  his  home  should  be  mine  henceforth.  I  shook 
my  head,  and  said  I  had  marked  out  my  own  course,  and  I  meant  to 
walk  in  it. 

"Little  Medo-Persian,  we  shall  see  if  we  can  not  alter  your  arrange- 
ments for  your  own  good." 

I  left  my  dear  Tom's  pleasant  family  with  the  intention  of  returning 
to  spend  all  my  spare  time  with  them  ere  I  left  Scotland.  A  letter 
from  ]\Ir.  Campbell  awaited  me  at  Paisley,  which  said,  the  Siddons  was 
to  sail  from  Liverpool  October  ist,  and  I  was  expected  in  England 
to  meet  my  fellow-voyagers  ere  we  sailed." 

No  time  now  for  visiting ;  farewells  had  to  be  written.  A  short 
time  and  I  was  pacing  the  deck  of  a  steamer  that  was  about  to  glide 
down  the  beautiful  windmg  Clyde.  I  was  about  to  turn  a  new  leaf  in 
my  life's  history,  and  what  would  be  read  there  ?  God  only  knew. 
Only  three  short  months  since  I  set  foot  on  British  soil;  less  than  two 
since  I  landed  on  my  native  shore.  This  short  page  was  full  of  strange 
events.  My  heart  trembled  as  my  mental  vision  strained  itself  to 
look  into  the  unknown  future.  But  the  precious  promise,  "I  will 
never  leave  thee  nor  forsake  thee,"  had  a  power  to  make  me  brave;  to 
resolve  to  live  nearer  to  God,  and  serve  only  him.  I  felt  sad  at  the 
opposition  my  friends  raised  against  me  in  my  onward  path.  A  hand 
was  laid  lightly  on  my  shoulder.  I  turned,  and  a  gentleman  in  mili- 
tary undress  raised  his  cap ;  it  was  Tom. 

"I  am  not  too  late  to  take  you  home  with  me.  To  America,  that 
land  of  slavery,  you  must  not  go.  What  do  you  know  of  Mr.  Camp- 
bell more  than  we,  and  we  all  think  him  a  man-stealer." 

"Stop,  brother;  talk  of  what  concerns  yourself,  and  I  will  listen; 
but  of  that  great  and  exalted  character  you  know  nothing  and  must 
say  nothing." 

"Well,  sister,  of  him  I  will  say  nothing;  but  come  back  with  me  to 


2 Go  THE  STOKY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE, 

my  house,  where  you  will  be  sheltered,  and  loved,  and  cared  for  all 
your  days.     We  can  not  let  you  go." 

And  here  he  offered  inducements  to  me  to  tempt  me  to  stay.  His 
love  was  very  precious  to  me,  and  the  temptation  was  great  to  go  with 
him.  But  I  had  put  my  hand  to  the  plow,  and  must  not  look  back  to 
the  worldly  goods  that  were  offered  to  me, 

"Brother,  I  can  not,  if  I  would,  go  back.  My  baggage  is  all  on 
board,  and  my  passage  to  England  paid,  and  in  a  few  minutes  I  am  off 
to  that  country,  where  I  hope  to  learn,  of  that  noble,  Christian  gentle- 
man, the  way  to  heaven  more  perfectly,  and  to  live  among  Christian 
people.  This  I  prefer,  to  living  among  people  who  know  not  God, 
even  if  they  are  ever  so  kind  to  me.  Dear  Tom,  you  are  making  it 
very  hard  for  me  to  leave,  but  I  must  go." 

"No,  Eliza,  you  shall  not  go  to  that  land  of  strangers.  I  shall 
carry  you  back,  and  have  your  trunks  put  on  shore,  and  let  your  pas- 
sage money  go." 

"Tom,  you  can  carry  me  ashore,  because  you  are  strong,  but  you 
can  not  alter  my  resolution;  you  may  retard,  but  you  can  not  stop  my 
onward  course.  No,  you  may  as  well  try  to  move  Gibraltar  Rock,  as 
move  me  from  my  purpose.  I  am  going,  and  nothing  but  an  overrul- 
ing Providence  can  prevent.     Are  you  satisfied?" 

"Yes;  but  will  you  not  come  ashore  for  the  litde  time  you  have  to 
stay?     The  hotel  parlor  is  more  comfortable  than  this  poop." 

"No;  unless  you  promise  not  to  speak  to  me  on  the  subject  of  stay- 
ing." He  gave  a  reluctant  promise.  "You  will  not  try  to  detain  me, 
Tom?" 

"No;  come!"  and  we  went  ashore. 

The  master  of  the  steamer  passed  us,  and  said : 

"We  do  not  sail  for  half  an  hour." 

As  we  sat  at  the  window  overlooking  the  quay,  we  talked  of  our 
soul's  welfare,  I  urging  the  importance  of  my  beloved  brother  becom- 
ing religious,  while  yet  there  was  time;  for  eternity  was  near.  How 
my  heart  yearned  for  the  safety  of  this  dear  brother's  soul.  I  disliked 
to  leave  him  above  all  others,  for  I  loved  him  above  all  others. 

"Oh,  Tom,  become  a  Christian,  and  if  it  be  hard  to  part  here,  we 
shall  meet  in  heaven." 

I  told  him  I  did  not  regret  giving  up  earthly  pleasures,  nor  did  I  fear 
the  perils  of  a  tempestuous  sea.  My  greatest,  my  only  grief,  was  parting 
with  him.     My  parting  words  were : 


SAD  EXPERIENCES  IN  SCOTLAND.  26 1 

"Oh,  brother,  attend  to  your  soul's  eternal  interests  ere  it  be  too  late, 
and  let  us  meet  in  heaven." 

He  solemnly  promised  me  to  do  this.     I  said : 

"If  our  faith,  hope  and  love  are  the  same,  we  shall  meet  where  part- 
ing is  no  more,  and  no  more  weeping." 

We  were  both  weeping,  and  feeling  the  pain  of  parting,  and  in  a 
short  time  the  great  deep  would  roll  between  us.  The  boat-bell  rang; 
we  started  to  our  feet,  and  walked  hand  in  hand  on  board  the  boat. 
We  bade  each  other  a  silent  adieu.  He  stepped  ashore,  and  stood  like  • 
a  statue.  My  eyes  grew  dim  with  the  intensity  of  my  grief.  They 
were  chained  to  his  retiring  form,  as  the  boat  glided  from  the  shore, 
and  down  the  winding  river,  and  that  noble  form  was  hidden  from  my 
sight  forever.  Everything  grew  dark,  and  I,  fainting,  fell  on  the  deck, 
and  was  carried  to  my  cabin  by  a  kind  stranger's  hand.  After  I  recov- 
ered, I  could  do  nothing  but  weep  and  sob  for  many  hours. 

I  will  say  just  here,  that  shortly  after  this,  Tom's  interesting  wife  and 
darling  boy  both  died  suddenly.  It  was  a  terrible  shock  to  him, 
but  he  soon  followed  them  to  the  grave.  He  was  superintending  the 
shipping  of  pig  iron,  when  a  block  accidently  fell  on  his  head,  and 
killed  him  on  the  spot.  Thus  passed  from  time  into  eternity,  one  who 
was  very  dear  to  me;  but  not  before  his  peace  was  made  with  God,  I 
believe. 


CHAPTER  X. 

FAREWELL  TO  SCOTLAND,  AND  VOYAGE  TO  AMERICA. 

Passing  the  Isle  of  Man,  the  Irish  Sea  was  very  rough.  We  were 
driven  near  to  the  Welsh  coast,  and  narrowly  escaped  shipwreck.  We 
entered  the  Mersey  River,  and  landed  at  Liverpool,  with  its  seven  miles 
of  docks.  Our  steamer  was  behind  time,  and  when  I  landed,  there 
was  no  one  to  meet  me.  So  I  hired  a  carriage,  and  went  direct  to  the 
ship,  that  was  to  sail  that  night,  or  in  the  morning.  I  got  my  baggage 
on  board,  and  an  ofhcer  told  me  the  Siddons  would  not  sail  for  a  few 
days.  As  Mr.  Wilson  had  not  met  me  on  landing,  I  was  obliged  to  go 
to  a  hotel.  An  agent  of  the  Siddons  accompanied  me.  We  had  not 
gone  far  from  the  landing,  when  we  passed  two  gentleman  in  earnest 

conversation.    In  one  I  saw  the  very  personification  of  H.  Van  S . 

I  was  for  a  moment  struck  with  blank  astonishment;  but  I  soon  recov- 
ered, and  passed  on.  In  that  moment  I  saw  a  wild  surprise  light  up 
his  face  with  crimson;  then  an  ashy  paleness  o'erspread  it,  and  he 
stood  speechless  and  motionless,  like  the  statue  of  a  man.  I  thought 
him  thousands  of  miles  away.     The  agent  remarked,  when  he  passed : 

"That  gentleman  seemed  to  know  you." 

I  answered,  that  I  thought  I  knew  him  too,  but  it  is  simply  impossi- 
ble.   The  one  I  know  is  far,  far  away,  but  the  likeness  is  very  striking. 

"You  must  resemble  some  one  that  he  knows,  for  he  was  evidently 
startled  when  he  saw  you." 

"It  is  a  singular  coincidence,"  I  said. 

We  reached  the  hotel,  a  private  one,  and  the  rhistress  of  the  house, 
a  pleasant,  motherly  lady,  took  me  in  charge.  I  dismissed  my  escort, 
and  asked  for  my  room;  I  needed  rest  and  refreshment.  I  lay  down 
on  a  comfortable  bed,  and  slept  a  long  time,  and  awoke  quite  refreshed. 
When  I  came  down  to  dinner,  the  landlady  handed  me  a  card,  saying 
a  gentleman  had  called,  and  said  he  would  call  in  the  evening.     On 

reading  H.  Van  S on  the  card,  it  fell  to  the  floor.    What  could  this 

mean !    Was  it  a  reality  that  I  had  seen  H.  Van  S ?    Some  mystery 

or  mistake  is  here,  I  thought.  "How  could  any  one  know  that  I  was 
here?"     I  asked  the  lady  of  the  house. 

(262) 


FAREWELL  TO  SCOTLAND  AND  VOYAGE  TO  AMERICA.  263 

"I  do  not  know,"  she  said. 

It  was,  in  truth,  H,  Van  S that  I  saw,  and  he,  not  knowing  whether 

it  was  me,  or  my  ghost,  that  he  saw,  followed  me  to  the  hotel,  waylaid 
the  ship  agent,  and  asked  him  my  name  and  business.  Not  quite  satis- 
fied, he  left  his  card,  and  wished  himself  to  see  and  speak  to  the  living 
embodiment  of  the  image  of  his  dreams,  both  sleeping  and  waking,  and 
not  the  spirit  of  the  only  being  he  most  desired,  but  least  expected  to 
see;  for  in  this  life,  he  had  no  hope  of  ever  seeing  me  again.  I  had 
banished  him  from  my  presence,  wishing  never  to  see  him  again  in  this 
world,  and  here  at  the  antipodes  of  where  we  parted,  we  met  again. 
It  was  passing  strange.  When  he  called  in  the  evening,  and  I  took  his 
proffered  hand,  it  trembled;  when  he  attempted  to  speak,  his  voice 
trembled.     He  at  last  found  voice  to  say : 

"Surprise,  joy,  fear  has  quite  unmanned  me.  Forgive  me  for  thus 
intruding  upon  you,  after  what  has  passed.  All  hope  of  ever  seeing 
you  again  was  dead.  When  you  crossed  my  vision  this  morning,  I 
was  never  more  astonished.  I  could  not  believe  it  a  reality  till  I  fol- 
lowed you,  and  now  that  I  see  you  once  more,  I  thank  God.  I  have 
much  to  say  to  you,  if  you  will  allow  me  to  tell  it." 

Conditionally,  I  will  give  you  permission. 

"Eliza,  I  never,  never  expected  to  see  you,  and  what  I  have  to  say, 
I  never*  expected  to  whisper  to  mortal.  You  have  often  advised  me 
to  become  a  sober,  religious  nian,  and  to  win  you,  I  have  often  prom- 
ised and  desired  to  keep  my  word.  But  finding  the  hope  of  winning 
you  a  vain  hope,  I  would  try  to  drown  my  love  for  you  in  a  debasing 
passion.  I  have  mixed  in  gay  society,  but  all  to  no  purpose :  your 
image  stood  between  me  and  all  others.  I  have  paced  the  lonely 
deck,  on  the  bounding  billows,  in  the  midnight  hour,  under  the  quiet 
stars,  and  there  alone  held  sweet  communion  with  you.  When  you 
banished  me  from  your  presence  forever,  I  felt  that  it  was  a  fearful 
thing  to  think  that  I  loved  you  so  hopelessly,  that  nothing  on  earth 
could  give  me  joy.  All,  all  was  a  deep  blank.  I  had  no  hope  on  earth, 
only  to  dream  of  you,  and  hope  that  you  might  be  mine  in  heaven. 
Hence,  I  thought,  if  I  expected  to  meet  you  in  heaven,  I  must  live  a 
new  life  here.  While  life  lasts,  and  one  ray  of  reason  remains,  you 
are,  and  ever  shall  remain,  enshrined  in  the  deepest  recesses  of  my  soul. 
Your  prayers  and  your  influence  have  saved  me  from  many  tempta- 
tions. Oh,  Eliza,  I  have  often  thought,  did  you  but  give  me  one  word 
of  encouragement,  that  would  have  given  me  a  hope  that  all  was  not 
over  between    us  forever,  I  should  not  have  feared  Satan  himself. 


264  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

Now  our  meeting  is  providential.  Your  prayers  have  saved  me;  con- 
tinue to  pray  for  me.  I  think  God  himself  would  sanctify  our  union 
now.     You  can  save  me  from  all  ill." 

"Oh,  cruel  man,"  I  said;  "think  of  your  mother's  prayers  for  your 
well-bei-ng;  think  of  what  your  Savior  has  done  to  save  you  from  evil, 
and  why  do  you  lean  on  me,  who  am  a  poor,  weak  mortal?  You,  the 
strong  man,  ask  the  weak  woman  to  pray  for  you.     I  will  pray  for 

you,  H ,  that  you  may  be  kept  from  evil  thoughts,  evil  actions, 

and  from  all  temptations.  But  oh !  who,  in  all  this  wide  world,  will 
or  does  send  up  to  the  mercy-seat  a  single  petition  for  the  well-being 
of  the  lone  wanderer,  that  she  be  protected  from  temptation  in  this 
trying  hour?  I  can  only  clasp  that  promise  of  my  Lord  to  my  heart, 
'I  will  hever  leave  thee,  nor  forsake  thee.'  God  is  my  only  refuge  in 
whom  I  trust." 

The  color  rushed  to  the  face  of  H ,  then  left  it  as  white  as  a 

corpse.  I  told  him  to  leave,  for  I  could  not  converse  with  him.  He 
rose  at  once,  and  said: 

"Good  night,  and  God  bless  you." 

It  is  fearful  to  see  the  conflicts  of  a  soul  that  has  an  absorbing  pas- 
sion, and  love,  I  believe,  is  all-absorbing.  He  who,  in  the  strife  with 
men,  is  brave,  bold  and  unyielding,  will  thrill  and  tremble  at  the  word 
or  look  of  a  weak  woman.  He  may  be  haughty,  stern,  imperfbus,  but 
a  gentle  word  will  bend  him  to  her  will.  But  I  had  no  kind  word  to 
give,  and  my  thoughts  were  enshrouded  under  an  impenetrable  veil. 
"Alas!'  what  hourly  dangers  rise;  what  snares  beset  my  way." 

"O  Lord,  keep  me  in  the  heavenly  way,  and  let  not  the  tempter 
come  nigh,"  was  my  prayer. 

After  breakfast.  Captain  Van  S was  announced.  How  per- 
verse my  heart  was.  I  had  no  desire  to  hear  him  repeat  the  story  of 
his  heart-sorrow;  it  gave  me  pain,  as  I  could  give  nothing  but  counsel 
to  the  man  who  was  struggling  after  a  better  life.  Yet  it  seemed 
almost  impossible  for  him  to  control  his  feelings;  for  his  sake,  then,  I 
ought  not  to  see  him,  but  he  so  desired  to  be  with  me  as  the  only 
pleasure  he  had  on  earth,  I  felt  like  giving  him  the  pleasure  of  my 
company,  but  I  suffered  in  his.  I  asked  him  where  he  went  when  he 
left  New  South  Wales?  He  told  me  he  had  gone  to  China,  and  be- 
came perfectly  reckless  as  to  where  he  went  or  what  became  of  him. 

"But,  Eliza,  the  great  love  I  had  in  my  heart  for  you,  saved  me 
from  utter  destruction.  I  thought,  as  I  never  expected  to  see  you  on 
earth,  I  could  not  expect  to  meet  you  in  heaven,  unless  (as  you  often 


FAREWELL  TO  SCOTLAND  AND  VOYAGE  TO  AMERICA.  265 

told  me)  I  prepared  for  it,  and  I  resolved  in  God's  strength  to  live  a 
new  life,  and  become  a  better  man.  I  returned  to  Rotherdam,  and 
abode  with  my  mother  and  sister  for  a  short  time.  The  fatted  calf 
was  killed,  and  all  was  outwardly  calm  for  a  time.  My  mother  said 
she  thanked  God  for  the  happy  change  she  saw  in  me.  I  thanked 
God  and  you,  for  you  were  the  great  incentive  to  well-doing.  A 
young  lady,  beautiful,  educated  and  wealthy,  was  invited  to  spend 
some  time  with  my  sister,  in  the  hope  that  I  would  lay  my  heart  at 
her  feet,  and  offer  her  my  hand.  She  had  been  selected  for  me  by 
both  my  mother  and  sister.  She  was  lovely  and  interesting,  and  will, 
no  doubt,  be  the  pride  of  some  one's  home.  I  had  no  heart  to  give 
this  fair  girl,  so  could  not  offer  my  hand.  I  have  seen  many  ladies, 
and  liked  them  for  many  virtues,  but  you  only  have  filled  my  soul." 

I  smiled,  and  said:   "I  am  not  even  pretty." 

"You  are  to  me  peerless.  When  I  am  on  land,  I  mix  a  good  deal 
in  society,  but  I  can  not  forget  you.  I  do  not  wish  to  forget  you.  I 
wish  so  to  live  that  I  may  deserve  you,  either  on  earth  or  in  heaven; 
but  up  till  yesterday  I  had  no  hope  of  an  earthly  nature." 

"Nor  have  you  now,"  I  broke  in;  "and  if  you  speak  in  the  same 
manner  you  did  yesterday,  I  shall  certainly  refuse  to  see  you.  You 
wound  my  feelings,  and  you  seem  to  take  a  strange  pleasure  in  so 
doing.  I  have  ever  been  careful  of  your  feelings,  and  treated  you 
kindly  as  a  sister.  More  than  this  you  can  not  expect.  Yet  you 
urge  your  suit  here,  where  I  am  in  a  strange  city  alone,  without  a 
single  acquaintance  but  yourself.  If  you  truly  loved  me,  you  would 
seek  my  good,  and  protect  me  from  evil,  instead  of  which  you  spread 
a  snare  for  my  feet.  If  you  loved  me,  you  would  sacrifice  your  feel- 
ings for  my  principles,  and  not  wish  me  to  make  a  sacrifice  of  my 
principles.  You  seem  to  be  unfeeling  and  selfish.  I  thought  we 
might  have  had  a  few  days'  pleasant  intercourse  while  I  remain  here. 
But  I  can  not,  will  not,  receive  your  visits  if  I  may  not  have  peace." 

His  tell-tale  face,  from  which  the  color  went  and  came,  and  his 
blinding  tears,  told  how  severely  he  felt  rebuked.  He  begged  to  have 
the  few  days'  pleasure  of  coming  to  see  me,  and  I  should  have  no 
more  to  comjjlain  of.  I  really  pitied  him,  but  I  dared  not  show  my 
sympathy.  He  was  himself  again  to  outward  seeming;  a  man  in 
whose  friendship  I  might  feel  proud.  He  was  guarded  now,  and  he 
began  to  question  me  why  I  was  in  England  alone?  Why  I  was  going 
to  America?  and  if  my  mother  knew  of  my  going?  I  told  him  every- 
thing, beginning  with  my  mother's  marriage;  my  meeting  Mr.  Camp- 


g66  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

bell;  my  desire  to  live  more  to  God,  and  learn  more  of  him  from  the 
godly  man  to  whose  home  I  was  going ;  how  a  friend  was  to  meet  me 
on  landing,  but  we  were  behind  time,  and  so  missed  him;  but  hoped 
he  would  find  me  out  before  I  sailed. 

"My  surprise  and  joy  at  seeing  you  were  so  great,  that  I  only  felt 
bewildered  when  I  saw  you.  I  must  have  seemed  senseless  and  sel- 
fish since  then,  not  to  have  asked  you  why  you  were  traveling  alone. 
Oh,  forgive  my  stupid,  unreasonable  manner.  I  regret  exceedingly 
having  given  you  so  much  pain;  it  shall  not  so  happen  again.  You 
were  kind  in  showing  me  the  beauties  of  Sydney  when  I  was  there. 
Now  will  you  allow  me  to  chaperon  you  over  Liverpool?  I  know  the 
city  well,"  he  said. 

I  needed  no  better  chaperon.  He  showed  me  all  the  lions  of  the 
the  city.  He  studied  to  please  me  in  every  way,  and  made  everything 
I  saw  interesting  to  me.  I  was  well  pleased  with  my  intelligent  guide, 
and  the  time  to  sail  drew  near  very  quickly.    Two  days  before  sailing, 

H told  me  he  was  going  to  America.     My  blood  chilled  at  this 

announcement.     I  was  speechless.     I  only  looked  for  an  explanation. 

"Ehza,  before  your  arrival  at  Liverpool  I  purposed  going  to  Amer- 
ica; I  have  not  altered  my  purpose.  The  only  thing  I  have  altered 
in  my  plans  is,  that  instead  of  taking  a  ship  to  America,  I  shall  take 
a  passage  in  the  Siddcvis,  so  that,  being  in  the  same  ship  with  you,  I 
will  be  near  you  to  take  care  of  you  on  the  voyage." 

"Merciful  Father!"  I  exclaimed,  "what  do  I  hear?"  I  was  greatly 
excited.  I  stamped  my  foot,  and  said:  "This  you  shall  not  do?  I 
need  not  your  care ;  I  shall  not  have  it.  One  ship  shall  not  carry  us 
two  across  the  ocean.  If  you  have  paid  your  passage  money,  so  have 
I,  and  if  you  can  not  afford  to  lose  it,  I  shall  lose  my  money,  and  my 
baggage  to  boot.     If  you  go  on  the  Siddons,  I  stay  behind." 

"I  must  go  to  America;  my  business  demands  it.  I  left  home  for 
that  purpose,"  he  said. 

"Well,  if  you  must  go,  you  must.  The  ocean  path  is  wide  enough 
for  both,  but  we  sail  apart,  and  never  more  meet  on  the  other  side. 
This  is  my  unalterable  decision." 

With  blanched  cheek  and  quivering  lips,  he  bowed  and  said: 

"I  accept." 

This  tone  was  so  subdued,  the  attitude  so  humble,  my  agitation  was 
calmed  at  once. 

"I  have  no  claim  upon  your  heart.  My  thoughts  can  not  be  spoken. 
My  heart  may  break,  or  I  may  live  after  the  last  farewell  is  spoken, 


FAREWELL  TO  SCOTLAND  AND  VOYAGE  TO  AMERICA.  267 

but  if  I  live,  it  will  be  to  love  and  pray  for  your  well-being  and  hap- 
piness," he  said. 

After  this  stormy  interview,  I  felt  very  miserable.  I  prayed  that 
the  good  Lord  would  not  forsake  me,  but  still  protect  me  with  his 
mighty  arm,  and  give  me  strength  to  resist  the  tempter's  power. 

Mr.  Wilson,  who  was  to  have  met  me  on  landing,  called  to  see  me, 
accompanied  by  Edward  Tener,  one  of  the  young  gentlemen  who  were 
going  to  Bethany  College.  Mr.  Wilson  invited  me  to  spend  the  re- 
maining time  I  had  to  stay  in  England  at  his  house,  which  was  out  of 
town.  The  time  being  short,  I  declined.  We  went  on  board  the  ship, 
where  I  was  introduced  to  Captain  Cobb,  who  said  he  had  received  a 
strict  charge  from  Mr.  Campbell  to  take  care  of  me,  which  he  intended 
to  do.  I  thanked  him.  I  was  shown  the  comfortably  fitted-up  cabin 
that  Mr.  Campbell  had  secured  for  his  aunt  and  myself.  When  I  came 
on  board  the  first  time,  I  had  selected  this  cabin ;  but  the  steward  said 
it  had  been  taken  by  Mr.  Campbell  for  two  ladies.  I  did  not  tell  him 
that  I  was  one  of  the  ladies  till  now.     I  had  my  baggage  carried  into 

it.     On  the  eve  of  sailing,  H drank  tea  with  me,  and   spent  the 

evening.     It  was  a  sad  and  dismal  one.     He  said: 

"An  inexorable  fate  separates  us;  but  I  shall  not,  as  I  have  often 
done,  try  to  quench  my  sufferings  in  the  bowl,  or  other  dissipation.  I 
will  try  to  live  as  long  as  heaven  will  allow.  It  matters  not  where  I 
go,  no  clime  can  give  me  peace ;  but  I  will  not  despair.  I  hope  we 
shall  meet  in  heaven.  You  have  set  me  a  brave  example  of  self-denial, 
and  I  hope  to  profit  by  it," 

"Oh,  man  may  bear  with  suffering — his  heart  is  a  strong  thing— and 
godUke  in  the  grasp  of  pain,  that  wrings  mortality ;  but  tear  one  cord 
affection  clings  to,  part  one  tie  that  binds  him  to  a  woman's  tender 
love,  and  his  great  spirit  yieldeth  hke  a  reed." 

My  spirit  was  sorely  tried  this  last  night  of  my  sojourn  in  England. 
I  sent  up  to  the  ever  open  ear  of  my  heavenly  Father  a  prayer  for  both 
of  us,  to  give  us  strength.  "As  thy  day  is,  thy  strength  shall  be," 
came  to  my  mind.  The  "good-night"  was  spoken,  and  I  was  left  with 
my  thoughts.  All  my  luggage  was  on  board,  my  cabin  was  arranged, 
and  ready  to  receive  me.  I  had  nothing  to  do  but  go  aboard,  and  sail 
away.  But  was  that  all  ?  H came  early,  and  took  me  on  board,  lin- 
gered by  my  side,  and  would  not  leave  me,  till  the  ship  moved  out  of 
dock  into  the  river.  Then  he  looked  at  me  with  a  look  of  unutterable 
woe,  through  blinding  tears;  then  turned  his  face  from  me,  wrung  my 
hand,  and  leaped  lightly  upon  the  pier,  and  thus  another  sad  and  pain- 


26S  THE  STORY  OK  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

fill  r.n-cwcll  was  taken.  Oh,  what  a  pang  shot  through  my  heart  at 
seeing  llie  misery  of  this  noble  man.  My  innocence  in  the  cause  did 
not  make  mc  feel  any  the  less  for  him.  I  looked  after  him,  a  last  sad 
look.  I  lirealhed  a  prayer  for  him,  that  none  but  God  could  hear,  and 
thus  we  two  parted  forever. 

H ,  as  he  said,  had  business  in  America,  connected  with  nautical 

affairs.  From  Boston  I  received  a  letter  from  him,  that  I  never  an- 
swered. That  was  after  I  reached  my  destination.  Two  years  after, 
I  received  a  letter  from  my  mother,  full  of  bitter  reproaches;  first,  for 

treating  H.  Van  S badly;  then  for  causing  his  death.     "Merciful 

Father!"  I  exclaimed; "have  I  indeed  done  this?"  I  searched  my 
very  inmost  heart  for  an  answer,  and  the  response  came  clear  from  my 
conscience,  no;  in  thought,  and  word,  and  deed  I  am  innocent.  I 
liave  been  sad  and  sorrowful  for  the  sufferer,  but  never,  willingly,  or 
knowingly,  gave  him  pain.  He  did  not  accuse  me;  on  the  contrary, 
he  blessed  me  with  his  last  breath.  He  said  I  was  right  in  all  I  said 
and  did  concerning  him.    I  had  been  the  means  of  making  him  a  better 

man.     H went  back  to  New  South  Wales  in  bad  health.     He 

stayed  with  my  mother,  in  hope  of  recovering  sufficient  strength  to  re- 
turn to  his  own  home,  and  spend  the  remainder  of  his  days  there. 
'J'his  was  not  to  be.  He  asked  my  mother  to  walk  sometimes  with  him, 
•where  he  and  I  had  walked.  He  had  lost  all  interest  in  the  world  be- 
sides, and  he  quietly  lay  down  and  slept  that  dreamless  sleep,  praying, 
as  he  closed  his  eyes,  that  we  might  meet  in  heaven.    I  could  but  echo 

his  prayer.     Poor  H ,  yours  was  a  turbulent  life,  rest  now  in  peace. 

Somewhere  he  had  contracted  fever,  and  never  fully  recovered,  and 
returned  to  New  South  Wales,  and  died.  The  remembrance  of  two 
such  devoted  hearts,  as  were  those  of  my  dearly  loved  brother  Tom, 
and  my  adopted  brother  Henrich,  cut  down  in  the  bloom  of  their  man- 
hood's beauty  and  strength,  makes  me  sad  even  rW)w.  They  are  for- 
ever enshrined  in  my  memory,  the  military  man  and  the  mariner. 

October  12,  1847,  a  fair  wind  took  us  out  into  the  Irish  Sea;  but  we 
had  to  "tack  ship"  very  often  in  St.  George's  Channel,  ere  we  were 
fairly  out  on  the  Atlantic.  Once  out  upon  the  ocean,  our  ship  like  a 
var-horse  bounded  over  the  waves.  On  the  second  night  out,  our  little 
party  were  sitting  in  the  fore  saloon,  when  suddenly  the  ship  was  lit  up 

with  a  blue,  lambent  flame,  terrific  to  behold.     Mrs.  C was  very 

much  alarmed,  and  retired  to  her  cabin,  from  which  she  did  not  emerge 
while  the  voyage  lasted.  Our  ship  was  freighted  with  over  400  living 
souls  from  Erin's  green  Isle.     She  was  large,  and  had  a  large  leak  in 


FAREWELL  TO  SCOTLAND  AND  VOYAGE  TO  AMERICA.  269 

her,  through  which  the  water  rushed  to  an  alarming  extent.  The  cap- 
tain would  not  turn  back  to  ascertain  the  extent  of  this  danger,  because 
he  would  have  to  lose  a  few  days.  So  the  lives  of  hundreds  were  risked 
for  a  few  greedy  men  grasping  for  gain.  The  crew  were  discontented 
and  quarrelsome.  We  were  surrounded  by  perils.  The  wind  was 
blowing  stiffly,  and  the  ship  was  rolling  heavily,  and  to  quiet  Mrs. 

C 's  fears,  I  went  on  deck  to  see  what  was  going  on.     I  was  near 

the  top  of  the  poop  stair,  when  the  captain  ran  toward  me,  caught  me 
in  his  arms,  and  carried  me  almost  breathless  right  back  toward  the 
stern  of  the  ship.  I  thought  the  man  had  lost  his  senses;  but  before  I 
could  speak,  I  knew  his  reason  for  acting  so  strangely.  The  captain 
saw  a  great  foam-capped  billow  rolling  toward  the  ship  with  furious 
speed,  and  it  washed  clean  over  the  vessel,  carrying  the  ladder  away 
on  which  I  had  stood  but  a  moment  before.  He  saw  my  danger,  ran 
to  the  rescue,  and  saved  my  life.  He  laughingly  asked,  if  he  should 
beg  pardon  for  so  rudely  taking  me  in  his  arms.  I  shook  my  head,  and 
thanked  him  for  his  unceremonious  embrace,  or  hug,  for  it  was  more 
like  the  hug  of  a  bear;  but  my  life  was  preserved,  for  which  I  was 
thankful.  The  wind  blew  louder,  and  the  storm  grew  greater,  till  it 
rose  to  a  gale.  We  lost  our  foretop  mast-stay  sail,  or  jib,  and  our  main 
top-gallant  sail,  all  in  a  short  time.  The  leak  kept  all  hands  at  the 
pump.  The  foul  winds  continued,  and  we  lost  our  mainsail.  Shortly 
after,  our  foresail  blew  to  ribbons.  Our  ship  dipped  her  bows  into  the 
surging  sea,  while  her  stern  was  tilted  high  in  air.  I  enjoyed  the  sight 
and  feeling  of  riding  the  waves  so  gloriously.  We  had  a  very  narrow 
escape  from  being  run  into  by  a  very  large  ship.  The  two  ships  met 
on  top  of  a  huge  wave,  and  the  stranger's  bow  grazed  our  ship's  side. 
We  lost  another  sail.  We  were  fast  losing  our  sails  ere  we  reached 
mid-ocean.  Everything  broke  loose  from  its  moorings,  that  was  not 
properly  secured.  In  the  steerage  all  was  confusion;  boxes  and 
benches  and  chests  dashing  and  smashing,  and  the  poor  creatures 
knocked  about  terribly.  The  wind  was  still  high,  but  it  had  veered 
round  in  our  favor.  I  was  enjoying  a  lively  scene  on  deck,  when  the 
steward  came  to  me,  and  asked  me  to  give  him  a  needle  and  white  silk 
thread.     I  asked,  "For  what  purpose?" 

"To  sew  up  a  woman's  leg,"  was  the  rough  answer. 

I  went  down  to  my  cabin,  found  needle  and  thread,  a  salts  botde  and 
some  rags.  I  told  aunt  Ellen,  as  I  left  the  cabin,  to  hold  to  her  bed 
tight,  or  she  would  tumble  out. 

"OchI  ochl  but  this  is  terrible,"  said  the  poor  old  lady. 


kyO  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

I  wont  to  the  steerage  with  the  steward  to  see  the  poor  woman.  On 
going  down  the  ladder,  I  had  to  press  througla  a  cloud  of  impurity. 
The  stench  from  350  human  beings,  lying  in  filth,  and  eating  filthy 
food,  was  very  sickening.  At  the  foot  of  the  ladder  on  the  floor  lay  a 
poor,  pale-fliced  woman,  with  half  a  dozen  women  screaming  round  her, 

"Och,  she  will  die,  she  wilL" 

A  child  was  trying  his  lungs  at  the  utmost  pitch.  I  told  a  woman  to 
take  the  little  fellow  out  of  sight  and  hearing.  We  lifted  the  woman 
up,  and  stretched  her  on  a  bench,  and  I  held  her  with  great  difficulty 
till  the  steward  sewed  the  flesh  from  the  ankle  to  the  knee  of  the  poor 
woman's  leg,  which  had  been  laid  open,  and  the  bones  laid  bare,  by 
a  great  chest  that  had  broken  away  from  its  moorings,  and  pinned  her 
to  the  stair.  The  poor  little  creature  stood  the  operation  well;  but 
seeing  the  needle  pushed  through  the  quivering  flesh  made  me  very 
faint.  I  held  her  tight  till  the  last  bandage  was  put  on;  then  she  called 
for  her  lusty  boy,  but  she  could  not  nurse  him.  She  smiled  at  him, 
and  he  crowed  at  her.  The  steward  performed  the  painful  operation 
very  skillfully.  I  helped  nurse  the  poor  woman,  and  took  her  better 
food  than  her  own,  till  she  recovered. 

I  told  the  captain  that  if  the  steerage  was  not  thoroughly  cleansed 
the  cholera  or  some  other  plague  would  break  out  among  the  peo- 
ple. Reordered  the  sailors  to  "drive  everyone  of  the  dirty  devils 
on  deck,  and  make  everything  clean,  and  make  them  clean  after  them- 
selves in  the  future."  In  this  den  of  dirt  a  woman  died,  and  when 
the  sailors  were  sewing  the  canvas  about  the  body  of  the  corpse,  and 
fastening  the  ballast  to  sink  it,  the  young  husband  was  nearly  frantic. 

"Och,  let  her  lie  azy  in  her  own  feather-bed,"  he  cried. 

And  he  would  and  did  have  her  sewed  up  in  her  feather-bed,  not  to 
sink,  but  to  float  away. 

When  in  mid-ocean  we  had  a  sublime  storm.  I  had  gone  on  deck. 
The  air  was  oppressive,  but  the  sea  looked  like  itself,  deep,  dark-blue, 
fresh,  free  and  boundless,  without  a  landmark.  It  seemed  to  play 
with  the  sky,  which  was  almost  cloudless.  The  sun  shone  clear  and 
bright,  at  the  same  time  a  sad  sough  was  wailing  through  the  shrouds. 
Groups  of  men  and  women  were  standing  and  sitting  on  the  deck 
listlessly.  Everything  seemed  unnaturally  quiet  and  calm.  The 
groups  on  deck  one  after  another  went  below.  When  the  last  disap- 
peared, "Batten  down  the  hatches,"  rang  out  on  the  stillness.  The 
captain  came  to  me  and  said  : 

"You  had  better  go  to  your  cabin." 


i 

FAREWELL  TO  SCOTLAND  AND  VOVAGE  TO  AMERICA.  2"]  I 

"I  prefer  to  stay  on  deck,  and  see  what  is  to  be  seen,"  I  said. 

"What  do  you  expect  to  see?"  queried  he. 

"A  storm,"  I  answered,  pointing  to  a  cloud  that  had  been  no  bigger 
than  a  man's  hand  when  near  the  horizon. 

It  was  rising  and  spreading  and  deepening  and  becoming  more 
dense.  And  suddenly  from  the  midst  of  the  ocean  uprose  the  liquid 
element  in  one  long,  high  mountain  chain,  or  ground-swell,  that  seemed 
to  stretch  from  horizon  to  horizon.  The  whole  ocean  seemed  to 
present  a  long,  unbroken  wall  moving  toward  us,  nearer  and  nearer. 
I  expecte'd  every  moment  to  be  engulfed.  Every  man  was  at  his  post. 
Some  had  swabs  in  their  hands;  all  seemed  expectant.  I  had  taken 
my  post  by  the  mizzen-mast,  holding  on  to  a  rope.  The  wind  now 
began  to  blow  with  fury,  and  just  as  the  bows  of  our  ship  went  down, 
apparently  to  rise  no  more,  the  great  mountain  wall  broke  into 
thousands  of  billows,  washing  over  us  from  stem  to  stern.  The  scup- 
pers were  all  open,  and  the  men  with  their  swabs  soon  cleared  the 
deck  of  the  great  body  of  water  that  was  shipped.  Had  the  hatches 
been  open,  the  ship  would  have  filled  and  sunk.  At  that  moment  we 
had  a  narrow  escape.  The  ship  gave  a  leap  and  a  plunge,  and  rolled 
frightfully,  so  much  so  that  I  was  driven  from  my  moorings,  and  swung 
in  mid-air,  away  from  the  mast,  then  down  bump  against  the  bulwarks 
with  a  bang. 

"Hold  on  for  God's  sake;  hold  on,  or  you  are  gone,"  shouted  the, 
captain  as  he  saw  me  swing. 

When  I  touched  the  deck  again  with  my  feet,  I  nodded  to  him. 
The  wind  was  now  blowing  a  gale,  and  the  lashing,  tossing,  heaving 
and  foaming  of  the  surging  billows  were  terrific,  but  magnificent. 
The  whole  ocean,  from  the  central  speck  on  which  I  stood  to  the 
vanishing  circle  of  the  horizon,  seemed  one  boundless,  boiling  cal- 
dron; millions  of  waves,  leaping  from  the  abyss  below,  and  rearing 
themselves  into  blue  mountain  peaks,  capped  with  snowy  foam, 
sparkled  in  the  light  for  a  moment,  and  then  sank  in  the  dark 
and  roaring  deep.  My  whole  soul  was  lifted  up  in  reverence  and  awe 
to  the  great  Ruler  of  the  tempest.  All  this  while  I  stood  gazing  forth 
upon  the  stormy  surface  of  the  sea,  and  as  I  looked  the  wind  went 
down  as  suddenly  as  it  had  risen ;  but  not  so  the  angry  waters.  The 
captain  came  to  me  and  said : 

"You  are  very  brave;  you  would  make  a  good  sailor's  wife." 

I  thanked  him  for  his  compliment,  and  asked  him  to  assist  me  to  go 


;-2  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

below.     I  thought  Aunt  Ellen  would  be  anxious  about  my  long  ab- 
sence.     I  was  well  satisfied  with  the  grand  spectacle  I  had  seen. 

A  worse  gale  burst  upon  us  one  night  than  any  that  we  had  met. 
Everything  in  the  steerage  gave  way,  and  the  smashing  up  of  every- 
thing frightened  the  people  nearly  out  of  their  wits.  Such  screaming 
and  swearing  and  praying  were  going  on  as  made  the  confusion  worse 
confounded.  In  the  tumult,  a  woman  gave  birth  to  a  child  before  her 
time.  It  died  and  was  thrown  out  in  the  deep  without  ceremony.  A 
few  hours  afterward  a  woman  died,  and  was  also  thrown  out,  and  ere 
another  day  passed  another  child  died,  and  was  tossed  into  the  deeiD. 
It  is  a  solemn  thing  to  die  at  any  time  and  place;  but  how  much  more 
so  to  die  at  sea,  when  the  friends  have  to  toss  their  beloved  ones,  with- 
out ceremony,  to  the  sharks,  without  even  a  canvas  coffin. 

A  fine  day  after  a  gale  would  give  us  a  little  rest  before  another 
outburst.  I  hardly  ever  slept  on  board  the  Siddons — first,  because  the 
leak  in  the  ship  was  gaining;  the  pumps  were  going  all  the  time,  and 
I  thought  at  any  hour  we  might  fill  and  sink,  and  I  did  not  wish  to  go 
down  in  my  sleep.  Gale  after  gale  followed  in  quick  succession,  till 
we  were  worn  out  with  the  pitching  and  tossing.  The  poor  sailors 
had  to  climb  the  shrouds  and  reef  the  top  sails  when  the  tall  masts 
were  swaying  every  way,  resting  their  feet  on  a  slack-rope,  and,  as 
they  say,  "holding  on  by  their  eyelashes,"  while  their  hands  were 
reefing.  One  poor  fellow  lost  his  foothold,  and  fell  headlong  down 
on  top  of  the  cook's  galley,  and  was  greatly  injured.  Many  a  prayer 
was  sent  up  from  that  distressed  ship  for  rest  from  the  storms.  We 
were  all  very  much  subdued  and  worn  out.  One  day  an  Irishman 
came  staggering  upon  deck,  in  the  midst  of  a  severe  storm,  calling  out, 

"Mister  Mate,  Mister  Mate,  the  shijD  is  sinking;  come  and  see  the 
big  hole  in  her." 

Poor  Pat  was  in  mortal  terror,  but  the  mate  did  not  laugh  at  him, 
but  at  once  went  with  him  to  see  the  hole.  He  was  alarmed  himself, 
fearing  another  leak.  However,  all  fears  were  soon  quieted.  A  port- 
hole that  had  been  calked  bursted  open,  and  in  rushed  the  water. 
Pat  was  told  there  was  no  danger.  The  real  danger  we  were  in  was 
kept  from  these  poor,  ignorant  creatures.  Our  ship  was  drifting  under 
bare  poles,  all  her  sails  furled.  We  sometimes  thought  we  were  buried 
under  the  water;  we  shipped  such  tremendous  seas,  and  the  ship  did 
not  ride  the  waves  as  she  was  wont.  The  captain,  mate  and  crew- 
were  all  on  deck  all  night.  The  storm-sail  was  set.  The  poor  sailors 
were  jjitched  out  of  the  rigging,  and  some  almost  overboard.     The 


FAREWELL  TO  SCOTLAND  AND  VOYAGE  TO  AMERICA.  273 

ship  gave  one  tremendous  lurch,  and  Hfted  me  clean  out  of  bed,  and 
threw  me  with  violence  against  the  opposite  side  of  my  cabin.  I 
thought  the  side  of  the  ship  had  gone  and  I  with  it.  The  turnout  was 
so  sudden  that  I  gave  a  scream,  the  first  since  I  came  on  board. 
Our  storm-sail  and  part  of  the  bulwarks  went  overboard  with  this 
dash  of  the  angry  waves. 

October  30th,  we  were  on  the  great  bank  of  Newfoundland,  with 
a  fair  wind,  fine  weather,  and  all  in  good  spirits.  A  little  stranger 
who  had  come  to  the  ship  in  a  storm  left  it  in  a  calm.  It  died  and 
was  buried  on  the  banks.  We  passed  the  banks  without  accident. 
The  sea  looked  like  a  sheet  of  burnished  silver.  We  had  a  good 
tossing  in  the  Gulf  stream,  and  another  thunder  and  lightning  storm. 
Our  lights  were  all  put  out,  and  we  were  left  in  darkness  that  might 
be  felt,  while  the  blue  glare  of  the  lightning  made  the  scene  more 
terrible.  The  next  day  the  wind  changed  in  our  favor,  but  blew  a 
perfect  hurricane.  We  were  sitting  about  on  our  cabin  floors,  holding 
on  to  any  and  everything  we  could  find  to  keep  from  being  dashed  to 
pieces  against  the  walls.  The  cold  was  intense,  but  we  had  no  fires. 
Another  short  respite  brought  us  to  the  deck  again.  The  captain  was 
taking  the  sun's  altitude;  his  smiling  face  had  not  been  seen  for  sever- 
al days.  The  mate  was  throwing  the  log,  to  see  how  many  knots  an 
hour  she  was  sailing,  when  one  of  the  sons  of  Erin  called  out: 

"Mike,  Mike,  come  and  see  the  mate  measuring  the  sea,  and  the 
captain  is  looking  for  New  York  somewhere  hereabouts." 

"Land  ho!"  The  joyful  sound  rang  through  the  ship.  What  pre- 
parations for  going  ashore !  All  was  bustle.  We  let  go  anchor  be- 
tween Staten  and  Long  Islands.  We  were  very  much  battered  and 
shabby-looking.  All  hands  had  enough  to  do  to  keep  the  old  ship 
afloat,  and  had  no  time  to  dress  her  up  and  paint  her.  Two  splendid 
vessels,  dressed  in  their  best,  with  colors  flying  triumphantly,  passed 
us  in  our  lowly  condition,  cheering  loud  and  long.  We  were  not 
inclined  to  cheer.  Their  triumph  was  short-lived.  One  of  the  great 
beauties,  without  a  pilot,  ran  ashore  on  Long  Island.  We  took  a 
pilot  on  board  ere  it  was  too  late,  and  passed  the  stranded  ship.  We 
did  not  cheer  at  her  in  her  distress.  We  merely  bowed  to  her  and 
passed  on  through  the  narrows.  Just  one  month  from  England,  a 
long  and  stormy  one.  A  rougher,  more  disagreeable,  stormier  voyage 
could  not  be  imagined.  The  captain  seemed  never  to  have  undressed 
all  through  the  voyage.  He  had  a  badly  disciplined  ship,  inferior 
officers,  mutinous  sailors,  drunken  and  disorderly,  a  leaky,  unsea- 
18 


2^4  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

worthy  vessel.  The  wonder  is  that  we  ever  got  across.  In  all  the 
dangers  we  had  to  pass  tlirough,  I  never  had  a  feeling  of  fear. 

"Rocked  in  the  cradle  of  the  deep, 
I  laid  me  down  in  peace  to  sleep; 
Secure  I  rest  upon  the  wave, 
For  thou,  O  Lord,  hast  power  to  save." 

As  we  passed  into  New  York  Bay,  and  sailed  past  the  battery,  the 
windows  were  all  ablaze  with  reflected  sunlight;  the  busy  boats  were 
plying  to  and  fro  on  the  broad  expanse  of  water,  and  a  forest  of  tall 
masts  near  by  told  their  own  tale.  I  saw  for  the  first  time  one  of  the 
Hudson  river  steamboats.  It  gave  me  a  lively  idea  of  what  Noah's 
Ark  looked  like.  A  moving  mountain  could  not  have  amused  or  sur- 
prised me  more  than  this.  I  was  still  more  surprised  when  I  saw  the 
elegant  interior.  We  hardly  passed  the  health  officers.  Though  all 
were  on  deck,  many  were  sick.  Then  came  the  Custom-house  officers. 
I  opened  my  trunks ;  I  was  asked  if  I  had  anything  but  wearing  ap- 
parel. I  said  I  had  many  things  that  I  did  not  wear,  but  nothing  I 
thought  that  required  duty  to  be  paid  on  it. 

"I  shall  take  your  word  as  the  word  of  a  lady,  and  pass  your  bag- 
gage without  examination." 

This  was  a  different  affair  from  that  of  passing  at  London. 

Our  little  party  of  five  landed  on  the  Western  hemisphere  on  the 
1 2th  of  November.  We  dined  at  a  restaurant,  Aunt  Ellen,  her  grand- 
son, a  boy  of  twelve,  the  Tener  brothers  and  myself.  Then  we  parted. 
The  brothers  purposed  staying  a  few  days  at  New  York.  We  met 
again  at  Bethany.  I  bestirred  myself,  for  I  had  two  inexperienced, 
helpless  travelers  and  their  luggage  to  look  after.  I  had  all  removed 
to  the  railway  depot,  and  checked  for  Philadelphia,  and  got  our  tickets 
for  that  place.  I  took  Aunt  Ellen  and  her  boy  into  the  cars,  and  seated 
them  comfortably,  and  sat  down  behind  them,  glad  to  rest,  for  I  was 
very  tired.  Presently  a  foppishly  dressed  man  sat  down  by  me.  He 
was  bedizened  with  pinchbeck  jewelry,  and  had  a  sinister,  downcast 
countenance.  He  began  in  a  free  and  easy  way  to  talk  to  me.  I  had 
a  Scotch  dislike  to  the  liberty  he  took.     His  manner  had  a  different 

effect  upon  Mrs.  C ,  and  he  turned  his  conversation  to  her,  and  fed 

her  grandson  on  peanuts  and  candy,  to  the  delight  of  the  boy.     Mrs. 

C thought  me  rude  to  this  gentleman,  when  I  did  not  answer  his 

impertinent  questions;  such  as,  "Is  that  old  woman  your  mother? 
where  did  you  come  from  ?  where  are  you  going  ?  have  you  any  gen- 


FAREWELL  TO  SCOTLAND  AND  VOYAGE  TO  AMERICA.  275 

tleman  with  you  to  take  care  of  you  and  your  luggage."     Mrs.  C- 


answered  the  last  question,  upon  which  the  stranger  offered  his  ser- 
vices, which  I  refused  very  decidedly,  and  said  I  could  attend  to  my 

own  business.     Here  I  had  a  little  lecture  fiom  Mrs.  C .     He 

then  said: 

.  "When  you  get  on  the  Delaware  River  boat,  a  bell  will  ring  for  the 
passengers  to  attend  to  their  trunks;  then  I  shall  come  to  you  for  your 
checks,  and  you  will  have  no  more  trouble  about  you  baggage." 

Mrs.  C was  full  of  gratitude  to  the  man.     He  continued: 

"You  can  have  your  luggage  stored  at  Bloodgood's  Hotel,  as  it  will 
be  late  ere  we  land,  and  you  can  go  on  to  your  friends.  I  shall  attend 
to  everything." 

Mrs.  C had  told  him  we  were  to  spend  a  few  days  at  Philadel- 
phia, and  he  laid  his  plans  to  suit.     When  the  bell  rang  I  was  fast 

asleep,  with  my  head  on  Mrs.  C 's  lap.     I  sprang  to  my  feet,  and, 

true  to  his  purpose,  there  stood  the  man  with  the  sinister  look. 
"Your  checks,  please." 

I  told  him  I  could*  attend  to  all  I  had  to  do  myself.     Mrs.  C 

asked,  if  I  really  meant  to  refuse  his  polite  offer?    I  said: 

"For  myself,  certainly;"  but  she  could  choose  him  to  guard  her  lug- 
gage, and  could  give  up  her  checks  to  him,  if  she  wished. 

She  told  me  to  "go  along,"  and  she  apologized  to  the  man  for  my 
manner.  I  was  with  others  at  the  baggage  wagon.  I  had  all  our 
checks  spread  out  on  my  hand  ready,  when  the  numbers  were  called, 
when  the  fellow  sneaked  up  to  my  side,  and  snatched  every  one  out 
of  my  hand.  I  knew  our  trunks  as  they  appeared,  and  ordered  the 
man  to  hand  up  the  checks.  I  had  all  the  baggage  piled  up  ready  for 
a  porter.  I  saw  the  fellow  talking  to  a  porter,  and  point  to  me,  and  said : 
"There,  that  pile!" 
What  did  this  mean?     I  sent  a  hack  driver  into  the  saloon  for  Mrs. 

C ,  and  to  send  the  boy  to  me  to  watch  the  luggage,  till  I  found  a 

porter.     No  boy  came,  and  I  waited  till  nearly  all  had  left  the  bolu. 

I  ran  to  the  saloon,  and  found  neither  Mrs.  C nor  the  boy ;  they 

had  gone,  and  taken  all  the  wraps  and  small  articles  with  them.  \\'hiit 
was  I  to  do?  I  went  back  to  the  luggage,  but  to  my  amazement,  it 
was  all  gone,  not  a  vestige  left  to  tell  where  it  had  stood,  and  no  per- 
son to  be  seen.  I  had  to  leave  the  boat.  I  landed  amid  a  perfect 
Babel  of  sound.  It  was  past  midnight,  pilch  dark,  and  raining  hard. 
I  pushed  my  way  through  a  dense  crowd  of  men,  horses,  hacks  and 
hand-carts.     I  could  see  nothing  of  Mrs.  C or  the  luggage  amid 


gyC  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

the  confusion.  I  inquired  my  way  to  Bloodgood's  Hotel,  where  I  saw 
n  light,  and  opened  a  door.  When  I  passed  from  the  dark  street  into 
a  room  flooded  with  gasUght,  the  effect  was  bhnding.  I  shaded  my 
eyes  with  my  hand,  wliile  1  advanced  to  where  some  gentlemen  (?)  stood. 
T  was  drenched,  draggled,  tired,  cold  and  perplexed.  I  stood  hesitat- 
ing^, for  the  men  did  not  hesitate  to  turn  and  stare  broadly  at  me. 
Their  rudeness  embarrassed  me;  but  1  inquired, if  two  men  had  brought 
a  quantity  of  baggage  there?    They  laughed,  and  said, 

"No." 

"Is  this  Bloodgood's  Hotel?"  I  asked. 

"Yes;  it  is  Bloodgood's.  What  do  you  want?"  was  asked  with  a 
sneer. 

"My  luggage;  but  you  say  it  is  not  here,"  I  answered. 

I  turned  from  them  with  a  sick  head  and  heart.  Their  hard  and 
unsympathizing  gaze  followed  me  out  into  the  hard  and  pitiless  face  of 
a  midnight  storm,  and  the  darkness  of  an  unknown  city.  I  raised  my 
eyes  to  heaven,  and  heaven  directed.  I  wandered  into  a  street,  where 
all  was  still  save  the  falling  rain.  I  ran  on,  and  on,  and  at  last  I  stood 
to  gain  breath  for  a  minute,  when  I  thought  I  heard  voices.  I  followed 
the  sound,  when  I  came  to  a  lamp-post,  against  which  was  tilted  a  hand- 
cart with  all  the  missing  baggage.  I  seemed  possessed  of  a  new  spirit, 
for  I  asked  the  rascals,  who  were  sheltered  under  a  porch,  how  they 
dared  to  carry  off  my  trunks  without  my  consent  or  knowledge?  I 
was  alone  with  these  bad  men,  and  no  one  near;  but  I  was  perfectly 
fearless.  I  felt  that  God  w^ould  protect  me.  To  all  their  falsehoods 
I  gave  no  heed.  I  told  them  they  meant  to  rob  us.  At  that  moment 
I  heard  the  rumble  of  a  carriage.     I  stood  in  the  light  of  the  lamp  to 

hail  for  help,  when,  to  my  great  joy,  Mrs.  C put  her  head  out  of 

the  window  of  the  hack.  Oh,  how  thankful  was  I  to  see  her.  I  was 
'  rather  daunted  to  hear  her  ask  me,  where  I  had  been,  and  why  I  had 
•left  her  alone  on  the  boat?  I  said,  I  thought  she  had  left  me,  and  not 
I  her.  The  boy  exclaimed  at  this;  but  I  had  to  turn  from  them  to  look 
after  the  luggage,  lest  it  should  be  carried  off  again.  I  called  to  a 
porter,  that  w-as  hurrying  past  out  of  the  rain,  to  take  charge  of  the 
trunks.  I  told  the  two  suspicious  ones  to  hand  over  to  him  the  stolen 
property.  I  helped  to  unload  and  reload,  and  told  the  porter  to  follow 
the  carriage  wherever  it  went,  and  I  should  pay  him  well.  The  sinister- 
looking  fellow  opened  the  carriage  door  for  me;  I  jumped  in,  when 
the  fellow  had  the  impudence  to  try  to  jump  in  after  me.  This  was 
•too  much,  and  without  ceremony,  with  all  my  strength,  1  pushed  him 


FAREWELL  TO  SCOTLAND  AND  VOYAGE  TO  AMERICA.  277 

back,  and  he  fell  on  the  street.     I  told  the  driver  to  drive  on.     Mrs. 

C gave  him  directions  to  go  to  the  house  of  her  friends,  the  Teners. 

My  overtaxed  energies  gave  way,  and  I  threw  myself  back  in  the  car- 
riage, and  cried  as  if  my  heart  would  break.     Mrs.  C 's  injured 

air,  and  the  boy's  sharp  tongue,  would  have  amused  me  at  another 
time,  but  they  only  added  to  what  I  was  already  suffering.  We  roused 
several  from  their  slumbers  asking  for  Mr.  Tener's  house,  but  we  could 
not  find  it.  At  last  I  told  the  driver  to  take  us  to  a  hotel,  for  I  was 
cold,  wet  and  worn  out.  We  had  been  three  hours  driving  about.  At 
the  hotel  we  stopped  at,  the  people  were  astir-  we  were  ushered  into 

a  warm,  bright  room,  where  were  several  gentlemen.     Mrs.   C , 

talking  to  the  boy,  drew  their  attention  to  us.  I  sank  shivering  into  a 
chair,  my  face  red  with  crying.  I  became  unconscious.  The  lady  of 
the  house  soon  made  her  appearance,  but  I  was  still  unconscious.  A 
restorative  was  given,  but  I  could  not  move.     A  hot  drink  was  given 

to  set  the  blood  circulating.    Mrs.  C looked  at  my  now  pale,  tired 

face,  and  asked  rae  what  ailed  me.  I  made  an  effort  to  tell  her  and 
the  others  present  what  ailed  me. 

I  told  them  that  within  the  last  twenty-four  hours  we  had  landed  at 
New  York,  and  on  the  cars  and  on  the  boat  I  had  been  greatly  an- 
noyed by  the  intrusive  impertinence  of  an  ill-favored  man.  I  showed 
my  displeasure  at  his  forcing  his  attentions  upon  me,  and  I  was  called 
rude  for  repulsing  so  polite  a  gentleman;  how  the  polite  gentleman 
snatched  the  checks  from  me,  and  when  I  went  to  the  saloon  for  the 
boy  to  watch  the  baggage,  he  and  his  grandmother  were  gone  and  my 
cloak  with  them,  and  when  I  went  back  to  the  baggage  it  was  all  gone; 
how  I  found  my  way  to  Bloodgood's,  only  to  be  stared  and  sneered 
at;  how  I  rushed  shivering  from  the  rude  gaze  of  the  unfeeling  men, 
out  into  darkness  and  rain,  without  an  outer  covering ;  how  I  found 
the  two  rascals  hidden  under  a  porch,  and  our  luggage  under  a  lamp- 
post; how  I  recovered  our  stolen  property,  and  offended  Mrs.  C 

by  my  unceremonious  leave-taking  of  the  polite  gentleman,  and  how 
for  hours  we  were  driving  everywhere  to  no  purpose,  till  I  was  nearly^ 
chilled  to  death  in  my  wet  clothes. 

"Oh,  the  villain,"  said  Mrs.  C . 

I  had  much  to  say,  but  the  thoughtful  landlady  said  I  ought  to  be 
in  my  room  and  take  off  my  wet  garments. 

The  gentlemen  were  loud  in  their  praises  of  my  courage  and  self-.' 
possession  in  very  trying  circumstances.     The  cry  I  sent  up  to  heaven 


278  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

as  I  rushed  from  Bloodgood's  door  was  answered  in  giving  me  cour- 
age.     One  said : 

"I  shall  hunt  that  scoundrel  up  and  bring  him  to  justice." 

I  had  escaped  from  the  wretch,  and  I  had  no  desire  to  see  him 
a''""ain,  even  to  have  him  punished. 

j^jrs.  C begged  a  thousand  pardons  for  what  she  had  said.    The 

fellow  had  told  her  to  get  into  a  cab  and  I  would  follow;  then  he  told 
her  that  I  had  left  the  boat,  bag  and  baggage,  and  she  startea  to  find 
Mr.  T 's,  but  accidentally  met  me  on  the  street. 

My  eyelids  closed  over  weary  eyes.  Sleep  came  to  my  aching 
limbs,  and  when  I  awoke  at  midday,  I  was  stiff  in  body,  but  refreshed 
in  spirits. 

I  have  a  pleasant  remembrance  of  our  host,  hostess  and  son.  We 
were  kindly  treated  by  them,  and  we  soon  prepared  to  resume  our 
journey.  We  took  a  train  for  Baltimore.  Once  more  on  the  move, 
we  passed  Wilmington,  in  Delaware;  crossed  the  Susquehanna  River  at 
Havre  de  Grace,  and  stopped  a  short  time  at  Baltimore.  It  is  a  very 
fine  city.  Here  we  took  a  stage-coach  to  cross  the  Alleghany  Moun- 
tains and  -the  Blue  Ridge.  This  was  no  small  undertaking.  We 
started  with  nine  passengers  inside;  we  did  not  jolt  much  at  first,  we 
were  so  well  packed.  Men  going  short  distances  left  us,  and  others 
came  in.  Two  gentlemen,  however,  kept  their  seats  facing  us.  They 
seemed  to  be  on  a  long  journey.  We  made  ourselves  as  comfortable 
as  we  could,  and  tried  to  take  a  nap  now  and  then.  While  staging  it 
over  mountains  and  rocky  passes,  and  round  the  edges  of  precipices, 
with  four  fiery  horses  and  a  Jehu  holding  the  reins,  napping  is  not  an 
easy  matter.  One  night  we  were  ascending  a  steep  mountain  side. 
All  inside  of  the  coach  seemed  to  be  asleep  but  myself.  One  muffled 
figure  sat  in  the  corner  opposite  to  me,  another  in  the  corner  opposite 
to  Aunt  Ellen,  his  head  thrown  back,  and  his  mouth  wide  open,  giving 
a  snort  now  and  then;  John  coiled  up,  with  his  head  on  his  grand- 
mother's lap,  and  she  bowing  alternately  to  the  sleeping  figures  in 
front,  and  I  in  my  corner  having  a  little  amusement  at  what  I  saw. 
We  gained  the  summit  of  the  mountain,  and  the  other  side  was  more 
rugged  and  steep.  Jehu  gathered  up  the  reins,  cracked  his  whip  and 
let  the  horses  fly  down  the  steep  mountain  side  to  save  them  from 
the  coach  tumbling  over  them,  as  he  said.  I  thought  the  coach 
had  turned  a  summersault,  as  the  horses  flew  down  hill.  It  certainly 
turned  us  who  were  on  the  back  seat  almost  heels  over  head  into  the 
laps  of  the  sleepers  in  front,  at  the  risk  of  broken  bones,  and  to  the 


FAREWELL  TO  SCOTLAND  AND  VOYAGE  TO  AMERICA.  279 

great  consternation  of  all.  The  sleepers,  roused  so  unceremoniously, 
roared  lustily ;  they  thought  they  were  killed  and  going  to  be  robbed. 
When,  instead  of  robbers,  they  found  two  women  lying  helpless  across 
them,  who  had  been  thrown  there  unintentionally,  they  modified  their 
roaring.  I  was  in  a  predicament  myself,  but  could  not  help  laughing 
at  Aunt  Ellen,  her  pitiful,  "Och  on,  och  on,  but  this  is  terrible;  board 
ship  was  nothing  to  it." 

On  trying  to  get  back  to  our  seats  our  heads  would  bump  on  the 
roof  of  the  coach,  then  we  would  be  thrown  about  in  a  terrible  man- 
ner sure  enough.  We  had  a  hard  road  to  travel  over  the  Alleghanies; 
but  on  we  rumbled,  till  we  reached  a  small  town  a  few  miles  from 
Bethany.  One  evening,  in  the  middle  of  dark  November,  might  be 
seen  two  phaetons  winding  around  the  base  of  Bethany  hills  at  a  slow 
pace,  \yith  three  way-worn  and  weary  travelers,  who  alighted  at  the 
Hibernia  House,  Bethany,  Brooke  County,  West  Virginia,  and  we  were 
at  the  end  of  our  long  journey. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

LIFE    IN    BETHANY. 

For  nine  months  I  had  been  traveling  incessantly  over  trackless 
oceans,  through  storm  and  calm,  over  rugged  mountains  and  rough 
roads,  and  I  was  glad  to  be  at  my  journey's  end.  I  was  weary  and 
needed  rest.  I  could  have  hidden  myself  away  and  slept  for  a  month, 
but  this  was  not  to  be.  Aunt  Ellen  was  a  Mrs.  Campbell,  and  she 
was  in  her  sister's  house,  who  was  also  a  Mrs.  Campbell.  Each  of 
them  had  large  families.  I  thought  there  was  here  a  clan  Campbell, 
with  A.  C.  as  chief,  but  they  were  an  Irish  instead  of  a  Scotch  clan. 
Aunt  Ellen  had  a  rich  compensation  now,  in  meeting  with  her  family, 
for  the  pangs  of  parting.  She  was  happy,  and  deservedly  so;  for  old 
and  timid  as  she  was,  she  had  dared  the  dangers  of  the  stormy  sea  to 
join  her  children  and  all  her  loved  ones.  While  all  were  greeting 
each  other  kindly,  I  looked  on;  and  while  I  sat  in  the  shadow  of  the 
window  curtain,  a  shadow  fell  over  my  heart  for  a  few  minutes.  I 
felt  all  too  keenly  that  I  was  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land.  I  saw  no 
familiar  face;  no  friend's  hand  grasped  mine.  I  was  not  expected  in 
this  household.  I  could  not  define  the  strange  feeling  that  I  had. 
Was  it  homesickness?  No;  but  I  was  alone  in  that  crowd.  I  wit- 
nessed the  smiles  and  tears,  the  joy  of  all  at  meeting  after  so  long  a 
separation.  I  had  no  smiles,  no  tears,  no  greetings,  no  feeling  but 
that  /  ^vas  entirely  alone.  Aunt  Ellen  after  awhile  bethought  herself 
that  I  had  not  been  introduced  to  her  family,  and  offered  many  apol- 
ogies, which  were  unnecessary.  I  was  glad  and  happy  next  morning 
to  see  the  venerable  face  of  Mr.  Campbell.  He  had  just  heard  of  our 
arrival,  and  had  come  over  to  see  us.  He  told  me  his  wife  was  sick 
and  could  not  come  over  to  see  us,  but  his  daughters  were  coming  to 
see  me  and  take  me  home  to  Bethany  House.  Home,  did  he  say  ?  I 
repeatedly  asked  myself.  Am  I  to  find  a  home  -in  this  strange  land? 
Home  is  not  a  mere  shelter  from  the  storm,  and  bread  to  eat  to  satisfy 
the  cravings  of  hunger.  Home  is  where  peace  reigns,  and  where  love 
and  joy  are;  where  one  supports  another  with  refinement  of  feeling 
and  Christian  forbearance.     This  is  the  life  that  makes  home  happy, 

(280) 


LIFE  IN  BETHANY.  »  281 

loving  hearts,  high  thoughts  and  sweet  smiles.     Was  this  the  home 
I  was  to  find  at  Bethany  House  ? 

I  resolved  in  God's  strength  to 'make  friends  by  making  myself 
friendly  to  all ;  devoting  myself  to  the  good  of  others.  For  myself 
I  had  nothing  to  live  for,  nothing  to  hope  for,  in  this  life.  I  was  now 
humanity's  servant  for  Christ's  sake.  Mr.  Campbell's  family  consisted 
of  himself  and  wife,  his  father,  Thos.  Campbell,  his  wife's  mother, 
Mrs.  Bakewell;  Miss  Clarinda,  the  youngest  daughter  by  his  first 
wife;  Margaret  (Mrs.  Ewing  and  her  husband),  Alexander,  Virginia, 
Decima  and  William,  the  present  wife's  children.  I  did  not  see  Mrs. 
Campbell  when  I  went  to  the  house  first.  Her  mind  was  deeply 
afflicted  for  the  loss  of  her  boy.  Her  affections  had  been  placed  on 
this  boy  supremely.  She  had  thought  he  would  live  and  follow  in  the 
steps  of  his  illustrious  father  to  honor  and  renown,  and  fill,  or  take 
the  place  of,  the  great  man  when  he  had  passed  away.  Her  hopes 
and  aspirations  for  Wickliffe  were  dashed  to  the  ground.  Her  idol 
was  broken,  and  she  was  inconsolable.  The  family  were  in  deep  dis- 
tress on  her  account,  as  well  as  for  the  loss  of  the  child.  Mr.  Camp- 
bell's home  was  a  primitive  one,  with  its  quaint  vine-clad  porch,  small 
windows  and  low  ceilings.  As  his  family  had  increased,  a  room  here 
and  one  there  had  been  added,  so  the  house  was  very  irregularly  built 
up.  The  old  parlor  in  which  he  loved  to  sit,  and  where  he  held  wor- 
ship with  his  family  night  and  morning,  had  hallowed  associations.  In 
it  he  had  been  married  to  his  first  wife,  and  he  could  not  have  it 
pulled  down,  but  added  to  it. 

When  Mr.  Campbell  came  home  from  college,  he  asked : 

"Where  is  mother?" 

After  he  had  kindly  greeted  me,  and  bade  me  welcome  to  Bethany 
House,  he  passed  out  of  doors.  I  saw  him  after  a  while  leading  a  tall, 
thin,  melancholy  looking  lady,  dressed  in  black,  with  her  clothes  drip- 
ping wet,  and  clinging  to  her  spare  figure.  This  was  Mrs.  Campbell, 
who  had  been  to  the  creek  where  her  boy  lost  his  life,  and  who  was  so 
gently  lead  to  her  own  room,  and  tenderly  cared  for  by  her  noble  hus- 
band. He  was  full  of  kindness  and  sympathy  for  his  afflicted  wife, 
and  was  very  gentle  with  her.  I  had  said  I  would  live  to  God,  and 
my  fellow-beings  I  would  serve  for  his  sake,  and  here  was  a  field  of 
labor  in  this  grief-stricken  family,  wide  enough  for  all  my  present  ener- 
gies. If  my  life  so  far  had  been  a  desert,  barren  and  storrn-beaten,  I 
had  tried  to  give  the  cup  of  cold  water  to  famishing  lips.  I  sliall  now 
try  to  do  more  for  Him  who  trieth  the  reins,  and  searcheth  the  heart. 


282  THE  STOKV  or  AN   EARNEST  LIFE. 

I  must  not  brood  over' my  own  sorrows,  or  dwell  on  the  past.  A  new 
litV  lay  open  before  me.  I  had  severed  every  link  that  bound  me  to 
my  former  life,  and  save  only  ki  a  few  particulars  my  new  friends 
knew  no  more  of  that  life  than  if  I  never  had  lived  it.  All  was  now 
burietl  in  the  deep  recesses  of  my  heart,  and  who  cared  to  enter  the 
penetralia? 

Friends  from  a  distance  who  came  to  see  me,  and  the  college  stu- 
dents, all  greeted  me  kindly,  and  caressingly  called  me,  "Our  Dove." 
.  I  never  knew  any  man^who  had  so  many  private  sorrows,  to  do  so 
much  jiublic  work  as  Mr.  Campbell.  He  was  never  in  a  hurry,  never 
idle,  had  always  time  to  entertain  strangers.  His  table  talk  was  to  me 
more  valuable  than  gold;  it  was  interesting,  edifying  and  enlightening. 
I  could  have  listened  to  him  for  hours.  We  would  have  short  lectures 
on  the  organs  of  hearing  or  seeing,  or  some  other  subjects  equally  in- 
teresting. Once  at  the  breakfast  table,  he  held  up  his  hand,  rather  a 
large  one,  and  exclaimed: 

"Oh,  how  beautiful!" 

I  smiled;  for  according  to  my  idea  of  beauty,  his  hand  was  not  beau, 
tiful.     He  saw  me  smile  (nothing  escaped  his  eagle  eye),  and  said: 

"None  but  God  could  design  the  mechanism  of  the  hand,  the  adap- 
tation of  the  thumb  to  the  fingers,  and  its  general  use,"  etc. 

To  me  the  human  hand  has  ever  since  had  beauty  in  it.  In  company 
his  conversation  took  a  lofty  flight,  even  to  heaven  itself,  and  the  ex- 
treme beauty  and  desirableness  of  heaven  was  set  forth  in  glowing  terms 
by  his  eloquent  portraiture.  He  seemed  to  live  more  in  heaven  than 
on  earth. 

All  were  delighted  and  instructed,  none  more  so  than  myself.  Every 
theme  was  so  entirely  new  to  me,  that  I  felt  profoundly  ignorant.  I 
also  felt  that  I  had  a  great,  a  precious  privilege  in  being  able  to  sit  at 
his  feet  and  learn.  His  sympathy  for  little  children  was  wonderful. 
He  toojc  a  little  one  out  of  my  arms  one  day,  and  said: 

"Poor  little  pilgrim,  you  have  life's  journey  to  travel  if  you  live,  and 
it  may  be  a  rough  one.  Let  us  make  it  as  smooth  as  we  can  for  the 
present  for  your  litde  feet." 

That  little  child's  Hfe -journey  came  to  an  end  very  soon;  its  little 
feet  never  reached  the  rough  places.  His  feelings  were  refined,  and 
he  had  a  keen  sense  of  the  beautiful.  I  saw  him  pick  up  a  sweet-briar 
blossom  one  day,  and  expatiate  on  its  beauty,  and  the  wonderful  con- 
descension of  God  in  making  the  flowers,  to  adorn  the  earth  for  man's 
pleasure.     He  was  ever  elevating  men's  minds  above  the  groveling 


LIFE  IN  BETHANY,  283 

things  of  earth.  His  gratitude  was  clearly  seen,  for  he  gave  thanks  to 
God  for  everything.  His  home  teaching  was  unparalleled.  His  grand 
ideas  of  God  made  him  have  very  exalted  ideas  of  man  and  of  man's 
value.     He  would  say, 

"There  is  more  value  in  one  human  soul,  than  there  is  in  millions  of 
worlds,  such  as  this  we  live  in." 

He  was  a  great  economist  of  time.  He  rose  at  four  A.  M.;  was  in 
his  studio  till  seven;  then  had  prayers;  then  breakfast,  and  away  to 
the  college  on  his  grey  horse,  to  give  a  morning  lecture  to  the  students; 
then  attended  to  his  printers  and  printing  and  farm  till  the  dinner-bell 
rang.  After  dinner,  he  would  receive  his  heavy  mail,  open  his  letters, 
and  write  till  tea-time,  either  in  his  study,  or  in  the  old  parlor.  The 
highest  privilege  any  one  could  enjoy,  I  thought,  was  to  hear  him  at 
family  worship  in  this  room.  His  easy  manner,  his  unstudied  courtesy 
to  all,  even  the  youngest,  who  was  "little  son  Willie,"  and  to  the  aged 
patriarch,  was  to  me  an  unceasing  wonder  and  delight.  Every  one  of 
the  family  brought  a  Psalm,  a  hymn,  or  a  portion  of  Scripture  to  the 
evening  entertainment.  After  the  recitations,  some  one  would  be  asked 
what  they  thought  the  text  or  context  meant.  Whatever  the  answer, 
however  crude  the  idea,  none  was  made  ashamed  of  his  ignorance ;  but 
was  set  right  as  to  the  great  truth  taught  in  the  lesson.  If  a  stranger 
was  present,  a  discussion  would  ensue;  but  it  was  usually  a  short  one, 
for  all  preferred  to  listen  to  the  simple,  sublime,  beautiful  and  terse 
language  in  which  he  clothed  his  illustrations  of  the  lessons  recited, 
and  the  humorous  way  he  would  apply  a  text,  or  convey  a  truth. 
Generally  a  hymn  was  sung,  and  if  his  voice  was  heard  above  the 
others,  he  would  say, 

"I  can  not  sing,  but  I  can  make  a  joyful  noise.  My  tympanum  is 
not  attuned  to  music,  but  I  can  make  melody  in  my  heart  to  the  Lord." 

His  prayers  breathe^  a  heavenly  spirit  truly.  I  felt  often  as  if  I  could 
remain  on  my  knees  all  night,  listening  to  the  petitions  which  he  sent 
up  to  the  ear  of  God.  I  was  always  silent  in  his  presence.  I  loved  to 
hear  him,  and  was  always  profoundly  attentive.  I  was  startled  one 
evening  by  his  calling  out, 

"Sister  Davies,  I  shall  make  my  young  folks  jealous  of  you,  if  I 
make  you  a  favorite  any  longer.  You  are  one  of  my  family,  and  you 
must  bring  your  portion  of  Scripture  to  recite,  as  do  the  others.  Now 
I  expect  you  to  add  to  the  entertainment  after  this." 

I  was  made  to  feel  that  he  had  a  fatherly  interest  in  me,  for  which  I 
was  very  grateful.    I  began  to  wonder  if  Mr.  Campbell  had  any  faults. 


284  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

I  had  never  seen  any;  yet  he  was  human,  and  I  did  not  wish  to  wor- 
ship humanity.  But  1  never  found  anything  in  him  to  lower  my  opinion 
of  him.  Every  day  brought  to  my  view  new  phases  ot  his  noble  ehar- 
acter. 

Miss  Clarinda  gave  me  a  warm  welcome  to  Bethany  House.    She  said : 

"I  do  not  wish  you  to  feel  'the  stranger's  heart'  with  us.  You  have 
left  your  home,  your  friends  and  your  country  to  come  and  live  among 
us,  and  you  shall  have  a  home  in  our  midst,  if  we  can  make  it  so  for 
you,  and  we  shall  try." 

Peerless  Clarinda!  the  graces  of  her  mind  surpassed  the  graces  of 
her  person,  and  she  was  wondrously  beautiful.  She  was  a  model 
Christian  lady  of  a  high  order,  and  set  a  noble  example  to  all  around. 
I  asked  Miss  Clarinda  one  day,  why  I  received  so  much  kind  attention 
from  everybody,  not  only  the  family,  but  strangers?     I  said: 

"There  is  nothing  in  me  or  about  me  that  can  attract  or  deserve  so 
much  attention  as  I  am  receiving.  There  must  be  some  mistake.  I 
must  be  taken  for  some  one  else,  and  when  the  friends  find  that  they 
have  lavished  caresses  on  the  wrong  person,  they  will  frown  on  me, 
because  I  have  accepted  them,  though  I  have  done  so  with  a  very  bad 
grace." 

Miss  Clarinda  seemed  surprised  at  my  question,  and  said: 

"We  have  made  no  mistake;  your  name  is  'Dove.'" 

"No,"  I  rejoined;   "it  is  Davies." 

"Then  you  do  not  know  why  we  call  you  our  dear  'Dove?'" 

"No,"  I  do  not." 

"Did  you  know  my  father  in  Scotland?  did  you  visit  him  in  prison? 
did  you  leave  your  country  and  friends  to  come  and  live  with  the  peo- 
ple over  whom  Mr.  Campbell  has  influence?" 

"Most  certainly  I  did;"  and  I  laughed  at  the  manner  in  which  I  was 
catechised. 

"Well,  you  are  with  the  people  over  whom  Mr.  Campbell  has  in- 
fluence, even  his  own  family.  He  wrote  to  us  about  your  zeal  and 
your  kindness,  and  also  that  Elijah  of  old  had  been  fed  by  ravens,  but 
that  he  was  more  fortunate,  for  he  had  been  administered  unto  by 
doves ;  and  when  he  came  home  he  told  us  that  one  of  his  doves  was 
coming  to  America  to  cast  in  her  lot  with  us,  and  that  he  had  invited 
her  to  come  to  Bethany,  and  he  hoped  we  all  would  show  her  how 
her  kindness  had  been  appreciated,  and  make  her  feel  at  home  in  our 
midst.      Now,  who  do  you  think  the  dove  is  if  you  are  not?" 

"Oh,"  I  said,  "I  do  not  know  of  any  one  but  myself,  and  I  do  feel 


LIFE  IN  BETHANY.  285 

highly  honored  by  the  name.  I  now  prize  it  beyond  measure,  and  I 
shall  show  you  how  I  can  appreciate  your  kindness  and  consideration 
of  me." 

Mrs.  Bakewell,  Mrs.  Campbell's  mother,  was  an  English  lady  of 
the  old  school,  deeply  prejudiced  against  everything  American.  She 
fell  sick,  and  I  went  to  see  her  in  her  room.  It  so  happened  that  a 
servant  had  just  placed  her  breakfast  on  a  table  in  front  of  her  bed. 
I  placed  the  table  and  breakfast  things  so  they  could  be  reached  by 
the  invalid  without  fatigue.  This  little  act  awakened  the  old  lady's 
kindliest  feelings.  She  said  I  was  "so  English."  English  ways  were 
so  superior  to  the  American  ways.     I  smiled,  and  said  : 

"I  am  a  fresh  importation." 

She  loved  to  converse  on  English  history.  Many  hours  I  would 
sit  in  her  room  and  entertain  her,  till  she  became  so  accustomed  to 
me  that  she  could  hardly  bear  me  ouf'of  her  sight.  The  family  were 
all  more  or  less  sick,  so  she  had  little  society,  and  I  gave  her  all  my 
spare  time.  She  grew  worse,  so  I  gave  up  everything  else  to  nurse  her. 
I  spread  a  pallet  on  the  floor,  and  stayed  with  her  night  and  day.  She 
was  a  great  sufferer,  and  this  caused  a  degree  of  fretfulness;  but  I  was 
not  nervous,  as  every  one  else  seemed  to  be.     I  was  told  by  Professor 

P that  I  must  have  been  born  when  nerves  were  not  fashionable, 

as  I  never  complained  of  nervousness.  The  very  close  confinement 
in  tlie  dark  sick-room  was  telling  on  me  however,  and  Miss  Clarinda 
insisted  I  should  walk  out  with  her  sometimes  to  breathe  the  fresh  air. 
As  the  old  lady  grew  worse,  I  could  never  leave  her,  night  or  day.  I 
had  been  sitting  up  with  her  all  one  night,  and  at  dawn  I  noticed  a 
change  come  over  her,  and  knew  not  what  it  was.  I  ran  to  the  study 
for  Mr.  Campbell.  He  came  at  once,  and  when  he  saw  her  face,  he 
said: 

"This  is  death." 

He  raised  her  head  on  his  arm,  and  she  breathed  out  her  spirit  there 
without  a  struggle.  Old  and  full  of  years,  she  was  laid  to  rest  in  the 
neat  little  graveyard  on  the  hillside. 

The  young,  beautiful,  bright  Mrs.  Ewing  was  prostrate  on  a  sick- 
bed, and  not  able  to  nurse  her  babe  of  a  few  days  old,  nor  could  a 
nurse  be  found  in  all  the  country  round  to  take  charge  of  it.  I  offered 
to  take  charge  of  the  small,  sickly  piece  of  humanity  till  a  nurse  could 
be  found.  From  nursing  the  sick  great-grandmother,  I  came  to  nurse 
the  sick  great-grandchild. 

Oh,  how  that  sick  young  mother  watched  me  the  first  time  I  dressed 


2S6  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

her  infant.  Her  large,  wistful  eyes  never  left  me  for  a  moment.  I 
was  afraid  to  handle  so  small  a  creature,  lest  he  should  slip  through 
mv  liands.  I  succeeded,  however,  in  my  task  to  the  satisfaction  of 
the  iK)or  sick  mother.  I  did  not  tell  her  that  he  was  the  first  infant  I 
had  ever  dressed,  and  that  I  did  it  in  fear  and  trembling.  Mrs.  Ewing 
Avas  drooping,  Mr.  Ewing  was  uneasy.  He  called  a  consultation  of 
doctors  to  examine  the  patient  and  give  him  an  exact  statement  of  her 
case.  Their  conclusion  was,  that  she  had  rapid  consumption,  and 
would  pass  away  ere  two  months.  This  death-knell  rang  through  the 
house.  O  how  my  heart  sympathized  with  this  stricken,  smitten  and 
afflicted  family!  I  could  not  realize  that  the  lively,  bright,  black-eyed 
Margaret  was  doomed  to  an  early  grave;  but  her  days  were  numbered. 

j^Ii-_  E said  she  must  not  die,  and  he  would  at  once  take  her  to  a 

warmer  climate.  He  took  her  to  Pittsburg  to  see  some  doctor  ere  he 
took  her  to  Cuba,  but  he  was  advised  to  take  her  home;  and  Mrs. 

E wished  to  come  home  to  die.    When  she  returned,  Miss  Clarin- 

da  and  myself  undressed  her  and  put  her  in  her  bed,  from  which  she 
never  rose.  In  nine  days  her  pure  spirit  left  its  clay  tenement.  I 
was  almost  always  by  her  bedside  with  her  boy.  She  asked  one  day 
if  I  knew  that  she  was  going  to  die? 

"Yes,"  I  said;  and  asked  her  if  she  were  afraid? 

"No;  but  if  it  were  God's  will  I  should  wish  to  live.  You  know  I 
am  young,  and  my  husband  loves  me ;  and  my  sweet  babe,  my  father, 
mother,  brothers  and  sisters,  I  could  wish  to  live  for  them;  but  God's 
will  be  done.     I  may  live  but  a  few  days,  but  I  am  ready,"  she  said. 

Her  faith  was  unshaken.  It  was  touchingly  beautiful  to  hear  that 
young  Christian,  on  the  confines  of  the  grave,  talk  so  calmly  of  her 
leaving  her  loved  ones.     At  another  time  she  said : 

"I  could  leave  this  world  without  a  trouble  if  you  would  promise 
to  be  a  mother  to  my  babe." 

This  promise  I  could  not  make,  for  I  did  not  know  whether  I  should 
be  allowed  to  keep  him.  It  grieved  her  that  I  could  not  conscientiously 
make  her  the  promise  she  so  much  desired  ;  it  seemed  to  be  her  only 
earthly  desire  now.  I  asked  her  why  she  did  not  give  the  dear  baby 
to  her  mother  ? 

"Oh,"  she  said,  "my  poor  dear  mother  has  been  so  deeply  afilicted 
already,  and  when  I  am  gone  she  will  be  plunged  in  despair  and 
deeper  grief,  and  will  be  unable  to  attend  to  him." 

On  her  last  Lord's  day  on -earth,  she  expressed  a  wish  to  partake  of 
the  Lord's  Supper.     The  deacon  brought  and  spread  the  emblems. 


LIFE  IN  BETHANY.  287 

He,  her  father,  mother,  husband  and  myself  partook  of  the  Supper 
■A'ith  her.  She  said  it  would  be  her  last  privilege  while  here,  and  it 
was.  The  scene  in  the  death-chamber  was  the  most  solemn  that  I 
ever  had  witnessed;  it  was  also  the  most  beautiful.     It  seemed  to  me 

the  very  gate  of  heaven.     Mrs.  E was  robed  in  pure  white  in  the 

midst  of  white  draperies ;  her  pale  cheeks  had  a  deep  rose  tint  on 
each;  her  eyes  were  large  and  lustrous,  and  her  hands  were  rever- 
ently clasped  on  her  bosom.  She  was  beautiful  as  a  dream,  and  as  a 
dream  she  soon  faded  away.  When  the  others  left,  I  took  my  seat  by 
her  side  with  her  babe  on  my  lap.  Her  gaze  rested  long  on  her  boy, 
then  she  looked  so  pleadingly  to  me  that  I  felt  almost  persuaded  at 
any  risk  to  make  her  the  promise;  but  I  feared  I  could  not  fulfill  it, 
and  so  held  back.     Her  mother  came  in  and  kneeled  by  her  bed,  and 

Mrs.  E began  to  talk  about  her  boy  and  myself  brokenly;  but 

was  not  understood.  I  understood  the  wistful  look  however,  but 
dared  not  do  as  my  heart  dictated.  One  by  one  the  family  came  in; 
a  change  came  over  her  lovely  face,  a  slight  spasm,  and  her  beautiful 
features  were  composed  in  death.  The  sound  of  prayer  and  praise 
had  floated  up  from  that  room  in  the  morning,  but  now  a  heartrending 
wail  of  agony  burst  from  the  hearts  of  those  present.  Thus  passed 
away  the  young,  beautiful  and  gifted  wife  of  J.  O.  Ewing.  She  was 
loving  in  her  nature,  and  loved  by  all  who  knew  her.  She  was  laid 
away  in  the  pleasant  retreat  of  the  dead  on  the  hillside. 

I  told  Mr.  E I  would  take  entire  charge  of  the  child,  and  I 

required  no  nurse.  At  that  time  there  was  no  one  who  cared  to  dis- 
pute the  ownership  with  me,  for  all  were  plunged  in  grief.  My  "wee 
pet  lamb,"  as  I  ever  called  him,  with  his  pure  white  transparent  skin, 
his  blue  spiritual  eyes,  looked  more  like  a  little  cherub  than  a  human 
babe.  I  devoted  my  whole  being,  mind  and  body,  to  my  charge;  but 
with  all  my  care  he  followed  his  youthful  mother  in  twelve  months 
from  the  time  she  fell  asleep.  We  laid  him  beside  his  mother  in  the 
pleasant  retreat. 

The  great  love  and  veneration  that  the  students  had  for  their  Presi- 
dent caused  them  to  show  me  a  great  deal  of  attention.  They  were 
all  like  brothers,  vying  with  each  other  in  kindness  to  me.  We  had 
rides  and  walks  and  talks,  and  formed  friendships  then  that  have  con- 
tinued through  all  the  years  that  have  passed.  Our  paths  diverged  as 
wide  as  the  earth,  but  have  converged  again,  and  1  am  happy  in  my 
friends.  The  students  of  B.  C,  and  the  young  lady  students  of  Pleas- 
ant Hill  Seminary   (conducted  by  Mrs.    McK ,   Mr.   Campbell's 


288  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

sister),  exchanged  the  small  courtesies  of  life  by  having  a  musical  or 
literary  entertainment,  and  visiting  each  other's  society  on  such  occa- 
sions. One  pleasant  bright  day  a  cheerful  party  in  buggies  and  car- 
riages, but  mostly  on  horseback,  started  for  the  Pleasant  Hill  Seminary 
to  attend  a  soiree.  I  rode  a  splendid  horse ;  my  escort  was  equally 
well  mounted,  and  we  rode  away  in  fine  spirits.  We  had  not  gone  far 
when  it  began  to  rain.  I  laid  the  reins  upon  the  horse's  neck  till  I 
could  fasten  a  cloak  at  my  neck,  when  a  great  grunting  hog  ran  across 
the  road,  frightened  the  horse,  and  off  he  bounded  like  an  arrow.  I 
let  the  cloak  go  to  catch  the  reins  with  both  hands,  but  I  could  not 
hold  in  the  high-mettled,  badly  frightened  creature.  On  we  sped, 
past  horses  and  buggies  ;  my  cloak  dangled  about  his  heels,  and  sev- 
eral horsemen  were  in  full  chase,  which  fairly  maddened  my  horse,  and 
on  he  ran,  faster  and  faster.  A  turn  in  the  road  led  to  the  ford  of  the 
creek.  I  thought  if  I  could  turn  his  face  toward  it  I  might  be  saved; 
but  if  he  dashed  straight  on  he  must  jump  or  tumble  over  a  precipice, 
and  both  be  dashed  to  pieces.  He  made  the  plunge,  and  was  at  the 
other  side  of  the  creek  in  a  twinkling.  I  know  not  how  I  kept  my 
seat.  A  carriage  was  passing  close  to  a  tree  and  he  could  not  pass 
between,  but  he  cleared  the  wheels  at  a  bound  and  recrossed  the 
creek.  I  finally  managed  to  get  his  head  in  a  fence-corner  just  as  he 
was  preparing  himself  for  a  leap  over  the  high  fence,  which  would  no 
doubt  have  been  his  last.  My  escort  came  up,  with  other  gentlemen, 
and  laid  hold  of  him  and  quieted  him.  I  could  not  have  held  on 
much  longer.  I  could  not  cut  my  food  or  raise  my  hands  to  my  head 
for  several  days  after  my  adventure.  I  was  lifted  into  a  carriage  and 
driven  the  remainder  of  the  distance.  I  thanked  God  in  my  heart  for 
my  preservation. 

On  another  occasion,  Mr.  McGarvey  was  my  escort  to  Pleasant  Hill, 
We  were  returning  to  Bethany  in  the  afternoon.  Before  we  had  gone  far, 
it  became  suddenly  dark,  and  a  boding  silence  reigned;  the  darkening 
clouds  met  over  head,  and  I  felt  that  a  storm  was  at  hand.  We  were  anx. 
ious  to  get  home,  and  it  was  rather  too  far  to  turn  back,  so  we  pushed  on. 
The  growling  winds  sent  forth  an  ominous  sound.  All  at  once  a  sheet 
of  fire  lit  up  our  pathway,  that  had  been  obscured  by  the  thickening  dark- 
ness, and  a  clap  of  thunder  burst  over  our  heads,  and  reverberated  from 
hillside  to  hillside  all  along  the  creek.  The  sound  was  prolonged  in 
one  incessant  roar.  The  blaze  of  the  blue,  forked  lightning  was  ap- 
palling. The  rain  fell  in  torrents.  I  had  an  umbrella,  which  I  held 
over  our  heads,  but  it  was  of  litde  use.     Every  flash  of  lightning  that 


LIFE  IX  BETHANY.  289 

came,  and  they  came  fierce  and  fast,  lit  up  the  surrounding  gloom  with 
a  glare  that  almost  made  the  pulses  of  the  heart  stand  still.  Mr. 
McGarvey  asked  me  if  I  were  afraid.    I,  in  a  very  quiet  tone,  answered, 

"No."     He  said: 

"I  am  glad  you  are  with  me  to-night;  had  it  been  any  of  the  other 
ladies,  who  are  so  nervous,  I  do  not  know  what  I  should  do;  I  cer- 
tainly could  not  attend  to  the  horse.     It  is  a  fearful  night." 

"Yes;  but  all  is  well,"  I  said. 

We  were  riding  along  a  terrace  on  the  face  of  a  hill.  The  water  was 
streaming  down  the  side  of  the  cliff  on  one  side  of  the  road,  rushing 
across,  and  making  our  narrow  road  slippery,  and  then  dashing  down 
over  the  cliff  at  the  other  side  into  the  creek,  which  was  greatly  swollen. 
We  could  not  see  each  other,  so  thick  was  the  darkness.  Every  step 
we  took,  we  were  in  danger  of  tumbling  over  the  cliff;  so  we  had  to 
stop  till  the  lurid  flame  lit  up  our  pathway  for  a  few  steps  before  us, 
then  we  would  go  on,  and  again  stop  for  another  blaze.  Once  we 
were  on  the  very  edge  of  a  precipice;  another  step,  and  we  would  have 
gone  over.  The  crash  of  falling  timber,  the  continuous  roar  of  the 
thunder,  the  hissing  wind  through  the  rustling  trees,  the  rushing  waters 
of  the  swollen  creek,  made  the  night  hideous.  We  sat  in  an  open 
buggy  in  the  drenching  rain,  waiting  for  a  gleam.  As  we  sat  in  silence 
listening  to  the  war  of  elements,  a  new  danger  presented  itself.  We 
had  to  cross  the  creek,  but  feared  that  it  had  risen  so  high,  that  we 
might  be  swept  away  in  attempting  to  cross,  and  it  was  still  rising,  and 
we  could  not  get  along  a  step  faster.  Danger  and  death  were  all 
around. 

"What  shall  we  do?"   Mr.  McG asked. 

"Cross,  if  possible,"  I  answered;  but  we  had  still  to  wait  for  light 
to  pierce  the  gloom. 

We  reached  the  creek  at  last,  and  plunged  down  into  the  water,  and 
then  stood  still  for  the  flash  to  come.  It  came,  and  showed  that  the 
water  was  up  to  the  axle-tree  of  the  buggy.  Another  gleam,  and  I  gave 
a  cry,  not  for  myself,  but  for  the  poor  horse.  A  few  inches  in  front  of 
the  horse's  throat  was  a  sharp,  pointed  snag,  and  had  he  taken  another 
step  in  the  dark,  he  would  have  been  impaled.  Mr.  McGarvey  gave 
me  the  reins,  jumped  into  the  water,  and  moved  the  snag  a  litUe  one 
way,  and  the  horse  the  other  way,  and  led  him  across  the  rushing 
waters.    We  landed  safely  near  to  IJethany  House,  with  thankful  hearts 

for  the  preservation  of  our  lives.     Mr.  McG helped  me  to  alight, 

19 


290  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

and  then  he  drove  off  to  his  boarding-house.  I  presented  myself  at 
the  old  ])arlor  door,  where  Mr.  Campbell  was  sitting.  He  told  me  to 
hurry  to  my  room  at  once,  and  to  give  him  an  account  of  how  we  got 
along  in  the  storm  in  the  morning.  I  told  him  how  we  managed  to 
travel  by  the  light  of  the  lightning,  and  the  danger  we  had  been  in. 

"It  is  wonderful  how  God  does  preserve  his  children,"  he  said. 

Mr.  McGarvey  was  very  popular  with  the  Faculty  of  the  College. 
He  was  a  good  student,  a  good  Christian,  and  very  attentive  and  re- 
spectful to  the  ladies.  He  was  high-toned,  unbending  in  his  integrity, 
and  honorable  in  all  his  actions.  We  were  excellent  friends.  He 
came  for  me  one  evening  to  go  to  prayer-meeting.  A  goodly  number 
were  present,  and  as  Prof  Pendleton  and  Dr.  Richardson  were  not 
there,  it  was  thought  that  no  one  was  able  to  conduct  the  meeting,  and 
Mr.  McGarvey  came  to  me,  and  said: 

"We  can  have  no  meeting  to-night." 

"Why?"  I  said,  looking  round;   "we  have  already  a  meeting." 

"But,"  he  said,  "there  is  no  one  to  conduct  it." 

I  asked  why  they  depended  upon  the  professors  to  conduct  prayer- 
meeting. 

"You  are  here,  and  you  can  conduct  it." 

"Why,"  he  said,  "I  never  conducted  one,  and  I  never  spoke  in  pub- 
lic in  my  life." 

"Well,  we  are  to  have  a  prayer-meeting;  that  is  what  I  came  for. 
You  speak  in  your  societies,  and  I  have  heard  you  sing,  and  let  me  ask 
you,  'do  you  pray?'" 

"Of  course  I  do,"  said  he. 

"Well,  then,  if  you  can  do  no  more  than  read  Christ's  Sermon  on 
the  Mount,  and  sing,  and  offer  a  prayer,  we  shall  not  have  come  for 
nothing." 

He  bravely  took  his  stand  at  the  table,  and  gave  as  his  reason  for 
being  there,  that  he  had  been  requested  to  conduct  the  meeting.  He 
read  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount;  we  sang  a  hymn;  he  prayed,  and  then 
made  some  very  beautiful  and  appropriate  remarks.  No  stranger  would 
have  suspected  that  that  was  his  first  attempt  at  conducting  a  religious 
meeting.  Mr.  McGarvey  is  now  one  of  our  distinguished  preachers, 
3.  professor  in  the  College  of  the  Bible,  a  teacher  of  preachers. 

In  a  cottage  by  the  creek  lived  an  aged  couple.  They  had  a  son 
and  a  daughter,  whom  they  wished  to  educate,  and  they  had  left  their 
home  and  come  to  live  at  Bethany,  while  the  son  attended  college 
there,  and  the  daughter  at  Pleasant  Hill  Seminary.     Miss  Frances 


LIFE  IN  BETHANY.  29 1 

came  home  from  school  one  day  sick.     I  went  to  see  her.     I  met  her 
father  at  the  door;  I  asked  him  how  she  was. 

"She  is  very  low,"  he  said. 

I  then  asked  if  she  was  in  danger.     His  mournful  response  was : 

"For  her  there  is  no  hope." 

I  was  starded  at  this  announcement;  I  was  not  prepared  for  it.     I 
was  taken  into  the  room  where  lay  the  slender  form  of  the  fair  girl, 
beautiful  even  in  sickness.    I  watched  the  working  of  the  nerves  of  ner 
pretty  face,  and  oh,  how  sad  I  felt,  when  I  saw  in  it  the  convulsive 
throes  of  death.     I  left  the  room.      Her  mother  followed   me,  and 
asked  me  if  I  would  ask  Mr.  Campbell  to  allow  them  to  bury  their 
only  daughter  in  a  secluded  spot  on  top  of  a  hill  in  the  skirt  of  a  beau- 
tiful grove,  a  place  she  had  selected  herself  for  her  last  resting-place. 
This  brave  old  Christian  lady  spoke  calmly  about  her  daughter.    It  was 
the  calmness  of  a  desolate  heart.     My  heart  wept  for  her,  the  grief- 
stricken  mother,  as  she  was  about  to  part  with  her  darhng  child.      She 
needed  all  her  Christian  philosophy  to  bear  up  under  her  heavy  trial. 
I  had  one  more  look  at  the  sweet,  young  face,  on  which  rested  a  sad, 
still  smile;  but  it  soon  faded  like  a  blossom  rudely  torn  from  its  parent 
stem,  nothing  now  left  of  her  beauty  but  a  memory.     Her  departure 
was  calm  and  peaceful.    Next  Lord's  day  was  appointed  for  her  funeral. 
I  went  to  the  house  of  mourning,  but  did  not  enter;  I  sat  on  a  log  out- 
side.   Though  it  was  winter,  the  sun  shone  out  bright  and  warm,  as  on 
a  spring  day.     The  trees,  though  stript  of  their  foliage,  looked  grand 
in  their  desolation;  the  ground  had  on  her  snowy  mantle.     All  nature 
was  hushed;  stillness  reigned  throughout.     It  was  a  solemn  hour  and 
peaceful.    My  thoughts  were  all  beyond  the  grave.    While  I  thought  of 
death  being  conquered  through  him  that  loves  us,  a  sweet  and  heavenly 
sound  arrested  my  attention.     At  first  it  was  soft  and  low;  then  it  rose 
to  a  most  triumphant  peal ;  it  was  like  sounding  a  triumph  over  death 
and  the  grave.    And  as  they  sang,  I  thought  an  angel  whispered,  "Tlie 
maid  is  not  dead,  but  sleepeth."     The  pall-bearers  appeared,  and  put 
the  coffin  on  a  wagon,  and  moved  onward  with  solemn  steps  and  slow. 
A  long  procession  followed.     Mr.  McGarvey  joined  me,  and  we  fell 
in,  and  followed  the  train  as  it  wound  round  the  base  of  a  hill.     We 
conversed  on  the  unf  ertainty  of  life,_  and  the  certainty  of  death  and 
eternity. 

The  spot,  where  Miss  Murphy  had  chosen  to  be  laid,  was  a  sweet, 
romantic  spot,  but  it  was  as  lonely  as  it  was  lovely.  A  hymn  was  sung, 
and  prayer  offered.    After  the  earth  closed  over  the  beautiful  remains, 


2p2  THE  STORV  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE, 

several  of  the  party  strolled  to  the  adjoining  hills,  to  enjoy  the  beau- 
tiful winter  scene  that  was  spread  out  before  us.  I  told  Mr.  McGar- 
vey,  as  we  walked  along,  that  as  soon  as  Miss  Murphy  came  home, 
she  told  her  mother  that  she  had  come  home  to  die,  which  distressed 
her  mother  very  much,  and  she  tried  to  dissuade  her  from  talking  about 
death.     But  the  girl  said : 

"Mother,  you  will  be  sorry  when  I  am  gone,  that  you  did  not  listen 
to  what  I  had  to  say.  It  is  my  last  wish,  mother,  and  listen  to  your 
dying  girl." 

And  the  poor,  heart-stricken  mother  did  listen  to  the  broken  sen- 
tences, and  earnest  tones  of  her  dying  child.  Mr.  McGarvey  embodied 
our  conversation  in  a  little  poem,  so  I  shall  not  repeat  it,  only  tran- 
scribe the  poem. 

HER  LAST  WISH. 

"My  mother,  I'm  going  to  leave  you  soon, 

I  feel  that  my  hour  has  come  ; 
This  couch  I  shall  soon  exchange  for  the  tomb. 

This  world  for  my  heavenly  home. 
My  mother,  I'd  wish  you  to  go  with  me, 

To  go  with  me  hand  in  hand; 
But  soon,  quite  soon,  I'm  sure  you'll  be 

Admitted  to  that  bright  land. 

You  know,  dear  mother,  we've  passed  our  days 

In  the  shades  of  an  humble  life ; 
Then  bury  me  far  from  the  public  gaze 

And  the  scenes  of  mortal  strife. 
The  grove  where  oft  with  a  pensive  soul 

The  feeling  I  love  the  best, 
All  lonely  at  eve  I  have  loved  to  rove, 

Let  that  be  my  place  of  rest. 

Amid  its  shades  let  them  lay  me  down. 

Their  leaves  let  my  covering  be ; 
For  ever  in  life  was  their  rustling  sound. 

The  sweetest  of  music  to  me. 
Mother,  you  often  will  wander  there  ' 

To  weep  in  the  evening  shade. 
And  guard  that  spot  with  a  mother's  care 

Wliere  your  own  dear  daughter  is  laid," 

They  buried  her  there  on  a  beautiful  day 

That  winter  had  borrowed  from  spring. 
And  sang  to  her  soul  as  it  flitted  away 

A  song  that  she  loved  to  sing. 


LIFE    IN    BETHANY.  293 

The  clods  were  frozen  upon  her  grave 

By  the  blast  that  blew  next  day; 
But  He  who  had  died  her  soul  to  save 

Had  hurried  her  far  away. 

Dear  Sister  Davies: 

It  is  usual  to  write  the  dedication  in  front  of  a  piece,  but  as  it  is  in  this  case 
an  after- thought,  you  will  forgive  me  for  violating  the  rule,  and  permit  me  to 
acknowledge  my  indebtedness  to  you  for  all  that  is  valuable  in  the  foregoing 
humble  effort.  You  will  remember  the  mournful  occasion  on  which  the  facts 
referred  to  occurred,  as  also  the  conversation  in  which  I  gained  the  information 
and  ideas  from  you,  which  I  have  endeavored  to  clothe  in  rhythmical  language. 
This  little  inscription  will  remind  you  of  that  day  when,  in  a  distant  land,  you" 
recall  the  humble  scenes  in  which  you  have  acted  here,  and  I  fondly  trust  they 
will  prevent  you  from  entirely  forgetting  many  other  very  interesting  conversa- 
tions with  which  you  have  honored  me. 

Your  sincerely  devoted  friend  and  brother, 

February,  1850.  J.  W.  McGarvey. 

We  had  sad  days  at  Bethany,  but  we  had  sunshiny  ones  too.  We 
had  several  wedding  parties,  which  were  very  enjoyable.  Professor 
Loos  was  married  to  the  beautiful  Miss  Rosetta  Kerr;  Mr.  Joseph 
Pendleton  to  Miss  Margaret  Ewing;  Miss  Sarah  Ewing  to  Mr.  Bush 
(the  Misses  Ewing  were  granddaughters  of  Mr.  Campbell),  and  Dr. 
Poston  to  Annie  Campbell  (niece  of  Aunt  Ellen).  As  soon  as  Mr. 
Campbell  had  tied  the  knot  and  the  wedding  breakfast  was  over,  a 
bevy  of  us  would  accompany  the  happy  couples  to  Wellsburg.  Ac- 
cording to  the  season,  we  had  horses,  buggies  or  sleighs.  One 
clear,  cold  frosty  day,  with  deep  snow  on  the  ground,  a  wedding  party 
started  from  the  Hibernia  in  sleighs.  The  horses  neighed,  and  tossed 
their  heads,  and  jingled  their  bells  at  a  fine  rate.  We  were  all  com- 
fortably wrapped  in  furs  and  rugs.  As  we  pranced  along  over  the 
snow,  the  air  was  exhilarating,  and  I  said  to  Mr.  McG : 

"This  sleigh  ride  is  perfectly  delightful." 

Mr.  McG laughed,  and  said  :  "This  is  not  a  sleigh  but  a  buggy." 

"Well,  the  horse  thinks  he  is  drawing  a  sleigli,  for  he  tosses  his 
head  and  jingles  his  bells  just  as  the  other  horses  are  doing,  and  if  he 
does  not  know  any  better,  he  enjoys  himself  all  the  same,  as  I  enjoyed 
the  sleigh  ride,  till  I  was  told  that  I  was  in  a  buggy." 

We  had  a  pleasant  day. 

I  greatly  enjoyed  the  literary  entertainments  given  by  the  students; 
they  were  interesting  and  entertaining.  Dr.  Richardson  and  I'rofessor 
Pendleton  taught  from  the  pulpit  as  well  as  Mr.  Campbell.     I  felt 


294  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

that  God  was  good  to  me  for  having  placed  me  where  I  had  such 
jirivileges.      I  ccrtainl)'  api)reciated  them. 

In  the  old  parlor  a  pleasing  picture  was  often  seen.  The  patriarch, 
Thos.  Campbell,  sat  m  his  rocking-chair,  with  his  silvery  hair  combed 
back  from  his  massive  forehead  and  falling  on  his  shoulders.  At 
times  he  sat  perfectly  still,  his  hands  clasped  before  him,  and  his  lips 
moving  as  in  prayer.  He  was  nearly  blind,  very  deaf,  and  had  lost 
his  memory  in  great  measurej  except  for  divine  things.  It  was  one  of 
my  privileges  to  read  the  Scripture  to  him  daily  for  some  time,  and  to 
hear  .him  repeat  hymns  in  great  numbers  by  only  reading  the  first  line 
to  him.  I  was  able  to  do  many  little  services  for  him,  for  which  I 
had  many  a  "Bless  you,  my  daughter."  He  was  the  personification 
of  patient  resignation.  I  loved  to  wait  on  the  dear  old  saint.  He 
was  courtly  in  his  manners,  and  grateful  for  everything  done  for  him. 

I  was  confined  to  my  room  for  several  days  in  consequence  of  a  fall 
I  had  down  a  stair.  Mr.  Campbell  came  into  my  room  one  day,  and 
said : 

"Here  is  something  pretty  for  you." 

And  he  handed  me  a  beautiful  bouquet,  artistically  arranged,  and 
swathed  with  blue  ribbon,  and  a  card,  on  which  was  written,  "For 
the  Dove,  with  the  compliments  of  J.  D.  Pickett."  The  sweet,  beau- 
tiful flowers  amused  and  interested  me  much  while  I  was  a  prisoner 
in  my  own  room.  The  memory  of  these  flowers  had  an  influence 
with  me  many  years  after  that  time. 

After  Mrs.  Ewing's  death,  Mrs.  Campbell  regained  the  lost 
equilibrium  of  her  mind,  and  she  seemed  a  very  different  woman. 
She  took  an  interest  in  her  household  duties.  The  family  had  been 
diminished;  three  had  been  buried,  and  three  had  been  married. 
Health  and  a  measure  of  cheerfulness  had  returned  to  the  house  of 
mourning.  I  felt  that  my  work  at  Bethany  was  done.  Mr.  Campbell 
had  returned  from  Kentucky,  where  he  had  been  traveling,  and  he 
gave  such  a  glowing  description  of  what  the  brethren  were  doing  at 
Midway,  I  felt  that  I  must  do  something  too.  We  were  told  that  an 
orphan  school  was  being  built  up,  and  orphans  were  being  cared  for. 
I  wished,  while  listening  to  him,  that  a  way  might  be  opened  for  me 
to  work  for  the  orphans,  and  thereby  do  more  work  in  the  Lord's 
vineyard  then  I  was  now  doing.  I  told  Mrs.  Campbell  I  thought  I 
should  like  to  go  to  Kentucky.  She  begged  me  not  to  leave  them; 
but  I  told  her  my  work  was  done  at  Bethany,  and  as  I  had  no  wish  to 
be  dependent,  I  desired  to  be  where  I  could  do  most  good. 


LIFE  IN  BETHANY.  295 

"Well,"  she  said,  "if  you  will  go,  remember  that  Bethany  is  your 
home,  and  come  back  when  you  are  tired  staying  away.  I  shall  never 
forget  your  kindness  to  me  and  mine,  nor  am  I  the  only  one  who 
appreciates  very  highly  your  labors  of  love  amongst  us.  Mr.  Camp- 
bell has  told  me  that  'you  were  like  a  ministering  angel  sent  by  Provi- 
dence to  minister  to  our  family  in  our  deep  affliction,'  and  he  has 
quoted  Paul  to  me :  'Be  not  forgetful  to  entertain  strangers,  for  thereby 
some  have  entertained  angels  unawares.'  On  two  different  occasions 
he  said  that  you  were  truly  a  ministering  angel  sent  to  us.  I  thought 
I  might  forget  what  my  dear  husband  had  said  to  me  about  you,  and 
I  wrote  it  down  in  my  diary;  here  it  is,  you  can  see  it." 

I  did  look,  and  saw  her  faithful  record  of  what  Mr.  C had  said 

of  me.  I  shed  tears  of  gratitude  to  know  that  my  labors  of  love  were 
appreciated. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

AT  THE   KENTUCKY  FEMALE   ORPHAN   SCHOOL. 

I  WAS  very  sad  when  I  left  Bethany.  I  had  taken  root  there  among 
scenes  I  loved  well.  I  felt  it  very  hard  to  part  with  the  lovely  Mrs. 
Pendleton.  She  was  then  the  reigning  queen  of  Mr.  Pendleton's  home 
and  heart.  He  alone  deserved  the  priceless  gem.  I  little  dreamed  that 
our  parting  was  final;  she  died  soon  after.  Several  friends  escorted 
me  to  Wellsburg.  We  arrived  just  in  time  for  Mr.  McGarvey  to  put 
me  on  board  of  the  Brilliant.  He  had  hardly  left  me  when  she 
moved  off.     I  ran  to  the  guards,  waved  my  hand  to  the  two   Miss 

C 's,    Professor  Loos  and  Mr.    McG .       I  had  dropped  my 

handkerchief,  but  the  captain  who  stood  near  gave  me  his  to  wave, 
and  I  waved  a  long  good-bye  to  those  I  left  on  shore. 

At  Cincinnati  it  rained  heavily.  I  asked  the  captain  where  was  the 
best  hotel  at  which  to  put  up  till  the  Kentucky  boat  should  sail.  He 
said  he  would  be  pleased  to  have  me  breakfast  with  him,  and  remain 
on  board  till  the  other  steamer  was  ready  to  start.  I  was  well  attended 
to,  and  in  due  time  was  transferred  to  the  splendid  steamer  Telegraph. 
I  have  a  grateful  remembrance  of  the  captain  and  clerk  of  the  Bril- 
liant for  their  attentions.  I  thanked  God  for  his  care  of  me  thus  far 
on  my  new,  strange  voyage.  I  had  the  undivided  attention  of  the 
captain  of  the  Telegraph  as  long  as  I  was  on  board.  When  he  handed 
me  over  to  the  care  of  another  captain  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kentucky 
River,  he  also  handed  me  his  card,  and  said  he  hoped  we  would  meet 
again.  On  the  card  was  written,  "Z,  M.  Sherley,"  the  name  of  a 
well-known  Kentucky  gentleman.  He  afterward  introduced  me  to  his 
family.  His  sisters  were  elegant,  interesting.  Christian  ladies,  at 
whose  homes  I  was  ever  after  handsomely  entertained. 

One  of  my  particular  friends  at  Bethany,  whom  I  have  not  named, 
in  whose  confidence  I  was,  and  whose  lady-love  and  myself  had  cor- 
responded ere  he  left  Bethany,  was  now  married,  and  living  at  the 
beautiful  little  town  of  Georgetown.  He  was  pastor  of  the  Christian 
Church,  and  principal  of  a  young  ladies'  school.  They  had  expected 
ime,  and  I  was  cordially  welcomed  by  them  both.     Many  ladies  called 

(296) 


AT  THE  KENTUCKY  FEMALE  ORPHAN  SCHOOL.  297 

upon  me,  and  told  me  that  I  was  well  known  to  them.  Mrs.  Dr. 
Keene,  an  elegant  old  lady,  with  polished  manners  and  beautiful  face, 
but  better  than  all,  a  Christian,  called  to  see  me,  paid  me  great  atten- 
tion, and  gave  me  a  party,  where  I  met  some  of  the  best  people  of  the 
place.  She  drov'e  me  out  often  to  show  me  the  beauties  of  the  sur- 
rounding country.  Every  place  was  beautiful,  and  every  person 
pleasant.  Mrs.  Keene  did  much  to  make  my  sojourn  at  Georgetown 
delightful.  I  met  at  her  house  the  charming  Misses  Hannah,  and  they 
continue  to  charm  me  with  their  high-toned  principles  and  pleasant 
manners.  I  tilso  met  General  Flournouy,  who  was  a  highly  cultured 
man,  a  most  enthusiastic  ornithologist,  and  very  entertaining. 

I  formed  a  warm  and  abiding  friendship  for  Mr.  and  Mrs.  H.  Graves 
and  their  family.  They  had  a  truly  Christian  household.  I  was  flooded 
with  questions  concerning  Mr.  Campbell's  imprisonment.  Sympathy 
for  him  in  his  persecution  was  wide-spread.  Amongst  others,  two 
veteran  soldiers  of  the  cross  called  to  see  me,  John  T.  Johnson  and 
Walter  Scott.  We  talked  on  various  subjects,  but  wound  up  on  the 
Orphan  School  at  Midway,  and  its  interests.  They  proposed  to  take 
me  to  see  the  school;  so  a  day  was  appointed,  and  they  drove  me  to 

Dr.  Pinkerton's,  at  Midway.    There  I  met  the  Dr.  P and  his  wife, 

and  Mr.  James  Ware  Parrish  and  his  wife.  We  all  went  to  the  school, 
where  I  had  a  delightful  visit  with  these  truly  noble  Christian  ladies 
and  gentlemen.  Mr.  Parrish  was  a  farmer.  He  was  a  man  of  culture 
and  refined  feelings,  and  courteous  in  his  manners.  He  lived  a  short 
distance  from  Midway.  He  was  a  man  of  great  personal  influence, 
loved  and  trusted  by  all.  He  was  a  philanthropist,  and  in  his  fertile 
brain  and  warm,  large  heart,  the  idea  arose  of  an  Orphan  School.  He 
and  Dr.  Pinkerton  consulted  and  discussed,  and  the  Orphan  School 
was  founded.  The  idea  was  laughed  at  by  some,  but  encouraged  by 
others.  It  was  thought  poor  orphans  in  Kentucky  could  not  be  found 
to  fill  the  school.  But  nothing  daunted,  the  noble  founder  went  on 
with  his  work,  collected  money  to  build  part  of  the  house,  gathered  up 
about  twenty  children  of  various  sizes  to  occupy  it,  and  Mr.  Dawson, 
a  Christian  gentleman,  installed  as  principal,  Mrs.  Dawson  as  matron. 
They  had  it  chartered  with  a  Board  of  Trustees.  Mr.  Parrish  traveled 
far  and  near  to  collect  money,  to  place  the  school  on  a  permanent  foun- 
dation. He  was  a  most  successful  financial  agent,  and  he  set  the  ex- 
ample of  liberality.  He  was  a  noble,  enthusiastic  worker  for  this 
institution  all  the  days  of  his  life,  and  to-day  it  stands  a  monimicnt  to 
his  memory,  as   also  to  that  of   his  co-laborer,  Dr.  Pinkerton,  who 


2qS  the  story  of  an  earnest  life. 

preached  for  the  church  at  Midway,  and  was  a  faithful  ally  of  Brother 
Farrish.  Mrs.  Parrish  was  most  attractive;  she  was  very  beautiful, 
o-cnlle  in  her  manners,  and  a  self-denying  co-worker  with  her  noble 
husband.  She  reminded  me  much  of  the  lovely  Mrs.  Pendleton.  We 
seemed  to  love  each  other  on  first  sight.  Mrs.  Pmkerton,  kind  and 
hospitable,  gave  me  a  warm  welcome.  These  whole-souled  workers  in 
the  ci-lorious  cause  cast  a  halo  of  love  around  me,  so  that  I  felt  as  if  in 
a  pure  and  healthful  atmosphere.     I  was  happy  in  their  love. 

Of  all  those  who  made  my  first  visit  to  Midway  a  delight,  who  are 
now  to  be  found  on  earth  ?  Who  of  those  earnest-heartAi  Christians, 
those  noble  specimens  of  humanity,  who  took  me  to  their  hearts  and 
homes  the  first  time  we  met?  All  are  gone,  not  one  left.  They  fin- 
ished their  life  work,  and  were  called  to  their  reward. 

I  was  deeply  interested  in  the  Orphan  School ;  my  sympathies  were 
entirely  enlisted  in  the  motherless  children.  They  had  many  kind 
friends  and  patrons,  but  I  thought  some  one  was  needed  to  give  her 
whole  time  to  their  care  besides  the  principal  and  matron.  I  thought 
I  could  fill  a  niche  in  the  school,  and  I,  therefore,  offered  my  services, 
which  were  gladly  accepted.  The  trustees  were  delighted  to  have  an- 
other join  the  noble  corps  of  workers,  who  were  undertaking  a  great 
and  glorious  work.  I  undertook  an  arduous  duty, -but  my  heart  was 
in  it.  I  prayed  to  my  heavenly  Father  to  give  me  knowledge  and 
strength  to  perform  my  part  well.  I  told  Mr.  Campbell,  when  he 
visited  Kentucky,  shortly  after  I  came  to  it,  that  I  was  afraid  I  had 
taken  too  much  upon  myself,'  but  that  my  heart  was  in  the  Orphan 
School.     He  said  to  me : 

"Attempt  great  things,  expect  great  things,  and  great  things  will 
follow." 

I  was  duly  installed  in  my  new  sphere  as  associate  principal  and 
assistant  matron.  The  school  was  then  in  its  infancy;  but  it  has  since 
grown  from  being  a  mere  Orphan  Asylum,  to  be  a  power  of  good  in  the 
land.  The  house  was  occupied,  but  not  furnished;  the  girls  slept  on 
straw  mattresses;  the  floors  were  uncarpeted;  the  children  had  to  be 
clothed  and  fed.  This  was  uphill  work  for  the  foster  parents  of  the 
institution;  but  they  had  large  and  liberal  hearts  devoted  to  the  work 
of  providing  for  the  orphans,  and  they  went  nobly  forward.  I  looked 
round,  and  thought  I  could  help  them  outside  of  my  every  day  duties. 
I  had  been  told  by  many  friends  that  I  belonged  to  the  Reformation. 
Every  member  had  a  claim  in  me ;  their  hearts  and  homes  were  open 
to  me,  and  I  should  be  cared  for  as  long  as  I  lived.     They  said  they 


AT  THE  KENTUCKY  FEMALE  ORPHAN  SCHOOL.  299 

claimed  me  for  their  own  before  they  saw  me.  I  thanked  God  and 
them  for  his  and  their  loving  kindness.  I  told  them  that  I  owed  it  to 
JNIr.  Campbell,  that  I  had  so  many  friends.  I  was  told  that  through 
Mr.  Campbell  I  might  have  gained  friends,  but  on  my  own  account  I 
retained  my  friends. 

"We  all  loved  you  for  what  you  did  for  him  wdien  in  your  country. 
Now  you  have  come  amongst  us;  we  love  you  for  yourself." 

Everywhere  my  heart  was  touched  with  the  many  expressions  of  love 
and  kind  feeling  toward  me.  In  fact,  I  was  surrounded  on  all  sides 
by  ".varm-hearted,  enthusiastic  friends.  The  love  and  protection,  the 
friendship  and  freedom,  that  I  enjoyed,  made  m.e  feel  that  I  was  at 
home,  and  I  reciprocated  every  feeling  expressed  for  me.  I  was  happy, 
and  loved  everybody.  I  valued  my  popularity,  for  I  thought  I  might 
make  use  of  it  for  the  benefit  of  the  Orphan  School.  At  vacation  time, 
or  any  other  time,  when  I  was  visiting,  I  always  introduced  the  or- 
phans' necessities  to  my  lady  friends.  I  told  them  the  gentlemen  had 
to  pay  for  the  building,  and  raise  an  endowment  fund,  and  we  ought 
to  help  them  clothe  the  children,  and  furnish  the  house  more  comfort- 
ably. Every  friend  responded  to  my  appeal.  I  told  them,  when  they 
were  buying  their  half-yearly  supply  of  linseys,  cottons,  prints,  flannels, 
or  any  other  material  for  clothing,  to  buy  a  little  more  than  was  needed, 
and  cut  economically,  and  then  hand  over  the  remnants  to  me;  and 
they  sent  from  remnants  up  to  rolls  of  all  kinds  of  good  material  for 
clothing.  I  told  them,  when  they  were  spinning  yarn  for  their  servants, 
to  spin  a  litde  more  than  they  needed,  for  we  had  litde  feet  that  needed 
litde  hose,  and  from  sending  a  little  yarn,  they  began  to  knit  hose  for 
the  litde  feet.  I  then  got  money  to  buy  cotton  mattresses  and  carpet- 
ing for  the  floors.  Children  gave  me  money  to  buy  a  piano.  The 
large  girls  had  to  make  all  their  own  clothes  and  those  of  the  smaller 
ones;  this  took  much  of  their  time  from  school.  To  enable  the  girls 
to  have  more  time  to  study,  I  cut  out  all  their  clothes,  and  invited  all 
my  lady  friends  around  the  neighborhood  to  come  and  sew  one  day, 
and  this  they  willingly  did.  There  were  no  sewing  machines  in  diose 
days,  but  willing  hands  did  all  the  work.  And  thus  the  pet  nursling 
was  cared  for  in  its  infancy.  The  institution  has  outgrown  all  these 
wants  long  ago.  Those  were  the  days  of  small  things,  but  they  were 
pleasant  days.  The  girls  thus  helped  had  a  good  deal  of  time  on  their 
hands,  and  to  fill  up  their  time,  I  taught  them  fancy  work.  So  much 
importance  as  now  was  not  then  given  to  their  studies.  The  fancy 
work,  from  a  small  beginning,  grew  so  as  to  bring  a  little  fund  (i  sold 


300 


THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 


their  work)  for  the  girls,  that  bought  them  trunks  and  extra  clothing 
when  they  left  the  school.  From  these  small  beginnings  has  grown  an 
institution  that  is  a  blessing  to  this  country,  and  one  of  its  beneficiaries 
is  benefiting  others  in  a  far  off  land  with  her  husband,  who  is  an  evan- 
gelist in  Australia. 

I  had  the  pleasure  of  naming  our  school  "Mount  Hope,"  for  many 
hopes  cluster  around  it.  The  widow  who  had  one  or  two  ori)han 
children  at  school,  hoped  they  might  be  good  and  obedient  to  the  pow- 
ers that  were  over  them,  she  hoped  they  would  be  studious  and  turn 
out  well,  and  better  their  condition  by  having  a  good  education.  The 
trustees  and  friends  of  the  school  hoped  that  their  grand  philanthropic 
scheme  would  be  a  success.  Had.  James  Ware  Parrish  lived  to  this 
day,  how  his  heart  would  beat  with  joy  to  see  all  his  hopes  realized. 

On  a  certain  Lord's  day,  after  church  service,  Dr.  Pinkerton  re- 
quested the  congregation  to  wait  a  few  minutes.  All  were  wondering 
why.  Presently  Mr.  Parrish,  with  a  tall,  well-dressed  gentleman, 
walked  down  the  aisle,  and  made  a  signal  for  me  to  go  to  him.  All 
eyes  followed  Mr.  Parrish  when  he  came  to  where  I  sat,  and  a  very 
distinct  hum  was  heard, 

"Oh!  Sister  Eliza  is  going  to  be  married!" 

Mr.  Parrish  put  out  his  hand  for  me  to  go  with  him,  but  I  seemed 
riveted  to  the  spot;  I  could  not  move.  All  eyes  were  on  me,  but 
there  I  sat.     One  of  the  orphan  girls  who  sat  by  me  rose  and  v/ent 

with  Mr.  P to  the  front,  and  was  there  married  to  Mr.  W ,  a 

young  lawyer,  to  the  great  amazement  of  all  present  who  were  not  of 
the  family.  No  one  dreamed  of  one  of  the  orphan  girls  being  mar- 
ried before  her  school  days  were  done;  but  so  it  was.     A  few  friends 

were  invited  to  partake  of  the  wedding^ dinner,  after  which  Mr.  W 

drove  off  with  his  young  bride  in  a  carriage  drawn  by  mules  to  his 
home.     They  were  a  very  happy  couple. 

One  night  I  had  seen  all  the  girls  in  bed,  and  the  household  as  I 
thought  fast  locked  in  slumber,  but  I  still  sat  and  read  till  a  late  hour. 
I  was  a  little  starded  in  the  stillness  to  hear  a  footfall  on  the  front 
stairs  leading  to  the  hall-door.  I  exclaimed  mentally,  "What  can  this 
mean?  Robbers?  But  I  shall  see."  I  rose  and  opened  wide  my 
door,  and  my  light  fell  full  on  the  face  of  one  of  the  girls  crouching, 
trying  to  hide  herself  and  a  bundle  she  carried  in  her  hand.  She  had 
been  making  for  the  front-door  to  effect  her  escape  from  school.  I 
took  her  by  the  hand  and  led  her  unresistingly  into  my  room,  and 


AT  THE  KENTUCKY  FEMALE  ORPHAN  SCHOOL.  3OI 

quietly  locked  the  door.     I  then  in  a  kindly  tone  asked  the  foolish 
girl  what  she  was  doing  at  that  time  of  night  on  the  front  stair  ? 

"I  was  going  to  run  away  from  school,"  she  answered,  in  a  defiant 
tone;  "I  do  not  wish  to  remain  here  where  I  have  been  badly  treated 
and  unjustly  punished,  and  I  determined  to  run  away." 

Both  the  matron  and  the  girl  had  high,  unyielding  tempers.  A 
serious  misunderstanding  had  arisen  between  them,  and  the  affair 
would  have  ended  unpleasantly  for  all  parties  had  not  the  foolish  girl's 
plans  been  broken  up  just  in  time.  She  had  .been  unjustly  punished, 
and  I  sympathized  with  her;  but  I  told  her  that  that  was  no  excuse 
for  her  undutiful  conduct;  her  ingratitude. 

"What  do  you  mean,  Sister  EUza,  by  saying  undutiful,  ingratitude?" 
her  eyes  flashing  at  the  same  time. 

I  told  her  that  she  was  undutiful  to  the  matron  in  not  doing  willingly 
what  she  was  told  to  do.  Obedience  was  her  duty,  and  she  disobeyed. 
Ungrateful  to  the  trustees  who  clothed,  fed  and  educated  her— a  poor 
return  for  their  kindness,  to  run  away  from  their  protecting  care,  and 
grieve  them  by  bringing  discredit  upon  the  school  which  sheltered  her, 
and  bringing  disgrace  upon  herself. 

"You  say  you  were  wrongfully  treated.  What  then?  Will  your 
wrong-doing  right  matters?" 

She  seemed  deeply  moved,  and  exclaimed:  "Oh,  Sister  Eliza,  what 
must  I  do?     I  have  done  wrong  to  try  to  steal  away." 

'  'You  must  submit  to  the  matron,  and  ask  her  forgiveness  for  your 
disobedience,"  I  answered. 

"Submit  to  Mrs. ,  who  wronged  me?     Never!     I  can  not  do 

it,"  said  the  fiery-spirited  girl. 

"Yes  you  can,"  said  I.  "You  know  the  Bible  tells  you  your  whole 
duty  in  every  relation  of  life;  it  also  says,  'If  you  are  punished  for 
your  faults  and  take  it  patiently,  what  thanks  have  ye?'  But  if  you 
are  punished  or  buffeted  wrongfully  for  what  you  have  not  done,  and 
take  the  wrong  punishment  patiently,  then  are  you  acting  as  becomes 
a  Christian  girl.     Have  you  done  this?"  I  asked. 

"Oh,  no,"  sobbed  she,  perfectly  subdued  and  penitent;  "but  I  shall 
do  as  you  tell  me." 

I  kept  her  in  my  room  till  morning.     A   little  breeze  sprang  up 

between  the  two  high  tempers,  but  M submitted,  begged  pardon, 

was  forgiven,  and  peace  was  restored  and  continued.     M tried 

hard  to  curb  her  unruly  temper.     She  was  obedient,  studious,  obliging 
and  grateful.     She  read  the  valedictory  at  graduating,  and  left  school 


302  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

beloved  by  all.  No  one  ever  knew  of  the  little  midnight  scene  in 
which  we  acted.  She  became  a  teacher  and  was  much  respected ;  then 
she  married.  I  never  saw  her  again,  but  she  wrote  to  me  most  affec- 
tionately, and  in  allusion  to  the  past,  she  said : 

"Dear  Sister  Eliza,  what  I  am  you  have  made  me." 

The  mother  of  these  girls  many  years  afterward  thanked  me,  with 
tears  in  her  eyes,  for  saving  her  girls  from  themselves. 

My  old  friend  Walter  Scott  came  to  Midway  to  lecture  in  the  inter- 
ests of  the  American  Bible  Union.  I  had  been  interested  enough  in 
the  movement  to  wish  it  a  success,  but  had  no  idea  that  I  could  do 
anything  for  it.  However,  my  feelings  were  changed.  I  was  made 
to  feel  that  I  could  help,  and  must  help;  but  how?  Thirty  dollars 
made  one  a  life  member;  one  hundred  dollars,  a  life  director.  I  had 
only  ten  dollars  I  was  saving  for  a  bonnet.  I  had  worn  my  old  one 
two  seasons,  and  it  was  very  shabby,  and  what  was  ten  dollars  to 
them?  But  three  women  with  ten  dollars  each  could  make  a  Hfe 
member  among  them.  I  asked  two  friends  to  join  me  to  make  Dr. 
Pinkerton,  our  pastor,  a  life  member;  they  consented  very  readily. 
I  thought  others  might  give  as  readily,  and  I  asked  and  received  till  I 
was  more  than  able  to  make  the  doctor  a  director.  I  kept  on  asking, 
and  was  enabled  to  make  Mr.  Dawson  a  life  director  also.  The  sisters 
of  Midway  Church  alone  did  this  good  work.  Mr.  Scott  was  our 
guest  at  Mount  Hope.  When  all  the  lights  were  out  upstairs,  I  went 
up  to  ascertain  that  all  was  well.  The  rooms  were  dark,  but  the  girls 
knew  who  was  tucking  the  bed-clothes  about  them.  A  hand  was  put 
out  from  under  a  cover  and  laid  on  mine,  and  a  whisper, 

"Sister  Eliza,  what  did  Mr.  Scott  mean  by  saying  they  wished  to 
send  the  Bible  to  foreign  nations;  and  that  we  must  send  it." 

I  explained  the  whole  of  the  lecture  to  the  girls.  Several  who  had 
not  heard  it  came  to  hear  me.  I  told  them  they  were  so  much  better 
off  than  the  heathen;  they  had  Bibles  and  books  in  abundance,  and  had 
everything  else  that  was  needful  provided  for  them.  The  heathen  had 
not  the  Bible,  and  we  had  a  great  many,  and  we  who  were  so  well  off 
must  send  the  Bible  to  those  who  had  none. 

"Sister  Eliza,"  said  one  of  the  poor  orphans,  "you  have  given  the 
price  of  your  bonnet,  and  I  feel  that  I  must  give  something  too.  Will 
Mr.  Scott  take  a  three-cent  piece  ?  that  is  all  I  have.  I  have  kept  it 
ever  since  I  came  to  school,  but  now  it  must  help  to  buy  Bibles  for 
the  heathen." 

Another  girl  gave  me  a  five-cent  piece,  her  mother's  parting  gift. 


AT  THE  KENTUCKY  FEMALE  ORPHAN"  SCHOOL. 


303 


I  related  to  them  the  story  of  the  widow's  mite,  and  the  ^Master's 
approval.  We  were  in  full  sympathy  on  the  subject  discussed.  Next 
morning  I  presented  my  two  pieces  of  silver — value,  eight  cents — to 
Mr.  Scott. 

"Here,"  said  I,  "is  a  voluntary  offering  from  two  orphan  children, 
who  feel  themselves  so  much  richer  than  the  heathen  that  they  give  this, 
their  all  of  money,  to  help  buy  Bibles  for  those  far  away.  Will  you 
accept  or  reject?" 

"Reject!  Sister  Eliza,"  said  the  enthusiastic  old  man.  "I  must  not 
disgrace  my  Master;  for  he  did  not  despise  a  smaller  sum.  I  shall  ac- 
cept it,  and  thank  God  and  you  for  putting  it  into  these  dear  children's 
hearts  to  give  their  all  to  the  Lord.  Every  cent  of  this  shall  bring  to 
the  American  Bible  Union  hundreds  of  dollars." 

Once  we  had  a  high-day  and  holiday  at  the  orphan  school.  We 
had  a  grand  picnic  in  a  beautiful  grove  near  by,  at  which  Gov.  Crit- 
tenden made  a  most  eloquent  speech  to  an  immense  crowd  in  behalf 
of  the  school.  Other  gentlemen  made  speeches,  and  we  had  vocal 
and  instrumental  music.  The  woods  rang  with  melody.  The  friends 
around  Midway  had  prepared  a  plentiful  repast,  to  which  all  were 
invited.  One  of  the  mounted  marshals  conducted  me,  with  the 
school,  when  we  left  the  platform,  back  to  Mount  Hope.  Soon  after, 
a  carriage  drove  up  to  the  school,  in  which  were  Mr.  and  Mrs.  James 
Fall,  and  Mrs.  Gov.  Crittenden.  I  cha})eroned  them  over  the  prem- 
ises, and  tried  to  interest  Mrs.  C in  the  school.     Mrs.  C sa'd 

the  governor  wished  to  become  better  acquainted  with  me.  I  was 
about  to  refuse  the  invitation  to  dine  with  them,  as  I  had  not  changed 
my  dress,  when  Mr.  Fall  came  behind  me  and  lifted  me  into  the  car- 
riage, and  carried  me  off  just  as  I  was,  and  I  spent  a  most  delightful 
evening  with  them.  The  governor  was  elegant  and  entertaining,  his 
wife  beautiful  and  charming.  I  had  pressing  invitations  to  visit  them 
at  Frankfort.  Mr.  Parrish  told  me  as  he  took  me  home  that  night  he 
had  been  delighted  to  hear  me  plead  so  earnestly  for  the  orphans  in 
the  midst  of  my  own  enjoyment.  I  told  him  the  greatest  enjoyment 
I  had  was  to  have  an  opportunity  to  do  so. 

"Fallen  as  sets  the  sun  at  eve,  to  rise  in  splendor  where  her  kindred 
luminaries  shine,  their  heaven  of  bless  to  share."  The  beautiful,  tlie 
gifted  Clarinda  (Mrs.  Pendleton)  had  been  called  away  to  join  her 
sainted  sisters.  She  was  the  bright  star  of  the  social  circle  in  which 
she  moved.  In  her  own  happy  lot  she  did  not  forget  the  "Stranger's 
heart."     Another  friend  gone.     "Friend  after  friend  departs." 


304  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

Tvlrs.  James  W.  Parrish,  gentle  and  beautiful,  was  called  away  to  join 
her  sisters.  Her  words  were  few,  but  she  was  a  firm  and  true  friend. 
Her  beauty  and  sweet  disposition  were  akin  to  Mrs.  Pendleton's.  She 
was  the  center  of  a  happy  circle,  but  death  claimed  her  as  his  own. 
I  thought,  as  I  smoothed  her  glossy,  wavy  black  hair  over  her  broad, 
white  brow,  her  long  curling  lashes,  as  they  lay  on  her  cheek,  and  her 
sweet,  smiling  Hps,  she  was'  too  beautiful  to  hide  away  in  the  grave. 
I  could  not  realize  that  the  lovely  image  was  only  clay.  It  was  hard 
to  let  her  go.  Mrs.  Smith,  her  only  living  sister,  asked  if  I  could 
transfer  the  love  I  bore  to  Mary  to  her.  I  looked  into  her  sad  eyes, 
and  threw  my  arms  round  her  neck,  and  said, 

"Yes;"  and  kissed  her,  and  loved  her  ever  after  as  long  as  she  lived. 

At  this  time  my  mother's  letters  were  harsh.  They  added  sorrow 
on  sorrow,  but  my  sorrow  never  had  vent.  As  an  eolian  harp,  when 
the  wind  sweeps  the  strings,  sends  forth  a  wailing  sound,  so  my  heart, 
when  the  chords  were  too  rudely  touched,  sent  up  a  wail  or  moan  to 
the  ear  of  God,  but  to  his  alone.  My  mother  well  knew  that  I  carried 
a  sorrow  which  cast  a  dark  shadow  over  all  my  inner  life.  No  joys 
could  brighten  that  gloom,  and  it  was  so  far  down  in  the  deep  recesses 
of  my  heart,  that  no  one  could  see  it.  I  bore  my  own  burden.  To 
tell  my  grief  would  not  have  brought  relief,  and  giving  vent  to  my  sor- 
row would  not  have  brought  comfort.  My  mother  wrote  for  me  to  go 
back  to  New  South  Wales,  for  he  who  sought  my  life  would  no  more 
give  me  trouble.  She  said  I  owed  a  duty  to  her,  and  my  religion 
ought  to  teach  me  better  than  to  disobey  her.  Time  was,  when  I  would 
gladly  have  obeyed  my  mother;  but  that  time  was  over  and  past.  I 
could  not  conscientiously  obey  her  behests.  Her  commands  were  im- 
perious and  unreasonable.  I  always  wrote  to  her  affectionately,  for  I 
loved  my  mother,  and  prayed  for  her  constantly.  I  begged  her  to  be 
reconciled  to  my  living  in  America,  where  I  was  happy  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  Christian  privileges  and  Christian  society.  I  had  left  the  world 
behind,  and  I  had  no  desire  to  go  back  to  it  again.  I  said  to  her  on 
one  occasion: 

"I  love  you,  dear  mother,  more  than  I  can  tell,  but  I  love  my  Savior 
more.  If  you  loved  him,  you  would  not  be  bitter  against  me.  Come 
to  him,  for  he  died  for  you,  that  you  might  live  happy  here  and  here- 
after. I  am  truly  glad  to  know  that  I  am  free.  Free !  What  a  load 
is  lifted  off  my  spirit;  freedom  lives,  and  tyranny  is  dead.  The  load 
is  lifted,  but  I  can  not  forget,  or  I  might  shout  for  joy;  this  I  can  not 
do.     I  accept  my  freedom  with  a  thankful  heart.     The  misery  of  my 


AT  THE  KENTUCKY  FEMALE  ORPHAN  SCHOOL.  305 

life  has  been  so  great,  that  freedom  from  it  is  a  great  boon.  Now  I 
can  enjoy  my  religious  privileges  without  alloy.  Dear  mother,  let  us 
both  prepare  for  heaven  and  eternity." 

Some  months  after  sending  my  last  letter  to  her,  I  received  a  letter 
from  the  Rev.  Dr.  McGarvey,  a  Presbyterian  clergyman,  saying: 

"Your  letter  was  received  a  few  weeks  ago.  We  are  all  glad  to  hear 
that  you  are  so  well  and  happy.  Your  remarks  upon  your  mother's 
letter  were  read.  You  knew  your  mother's  temper,  and  made  allow- 
ances for  it.     I  am  sorry  to  inform  you  that  she  is  now  no  more." 

Merciful  Father!  I  cried,  and  the  letter  fell  from  my  hands.  I  threw 
mj-self  on  the  bed,  and  in  a  perfect  agony  of  doubt  and  terror  called 
upon  my  heavenly  Father,  to  tell  me  what  new  thing  this  was  that  had 
happened  to  me.  My  poor,  dear  mother  gone?  where?  I  had  no 
hope  for  her  soul,  if  she  died  as  she  had  lived.  I  was  distracted;  I 
was  troubled,  and  could  not  be  comforted.  I  did  not  mourn  as  one 
who  had  hope;  I  did  not  mourn  because  we  had  been  separated  in 
time.  God  only  knew  the  agony  of  my  mourning,  for  three  weary 
weeks,  dreary  and  dark  to  me.  I  could  not  brook  an  eternal  separa- 
tion from  my  dear  mother.  The  thought  was  horrible.  My  heart  was 
tired,  and  my  strength  was  very  low.  The  night  was  dark  and  gloomy 
outside;  the  wind  moaned,  and  my  spirit  kept  company.  As  I  sat  in 
sad  silence  by  my  fire,  I  asked  God  why  my  nature,  so  sensitive,  so 
full  of  feeling,  was  tried  so  sorely.  Why  was  I  made  to  suffer  and  to 
weep?  I  thought  I  heard  a  voice,  and  I  was  starded  at  the  sound  in 
my  ear.  "Be  still,  and  know  that  I  am  God,"  echoed  through  my 
brain.  My  questioning  God  came  to  an  end.  I  took  the  letter  that  I 
had  dropped  three  weeks  ago;  I  had  read  only  the  first  startling  an- 
nouncement.    I  now  read  with  a  subdued  spirit. 

"She  departed  this  life  in  May.  She  bore  her  sufferings  with  a  great 
resignation  to  the  Divine  Will.  *  *  *  I  attended  her  to  the  last, 
and  was  greatly  pleased  with  her  meekness  and  penitence  and  faith, 
which  I  think  may  prove  a  means  of  acceptance  with  God.  She  died 
in  the  hope  of  a  joyous  resurrection.  *  *  *  If  we  depart  as  calmly 
as  she  did,  and  as  peacefully,  it  will  be  a  blessed  termination  to  our 
troubled  lives." 

God  does  not  delight  in  the  death  of  a  sinner,  and  as  there  is  joy  in 
heaven  over  one  sinner  who  repents,  I  left  my  mother  in  the  hands  of 
him  who  died  to  save  her,  hoping  to  meet  her  in  heaven. 

Being,  as  I  have  said,  humanity's  servant,  I  was  often  called  to  sit 
up  all  night  with  sick  in  the  neighborhood.     I  was  always  pleased  to 


2o6  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

nurse  the  sick,  or  sit  up  with  them,  but  I  never  allowed  anything  to 
interfere  with  my  home  duties.  I  was  asked  once  why  I  was  always 
ready  to  nurse  the  sick;  was  it  because  I  was  a  good  nurse?  "No; 
but  I  wish  to  do  to  others  just  what  I  wish  to  be  done  to  me  when  my 
hour  of  weakness  comes." 

A  Mrs.  Frazer,  who  lived  at  the  foot  of  Mt.  Hope,  a  quiet  and  gen- 
tle lady,  took  sick,  and  was  ill  a  long  time.  Her  Httle  girl  was  but  a 
few  months  old,  and  was  greatly  neglected,  as  the  mother  was  not  able 
to  attend  to  her  as  she  had  done.     I  went  to  see  them  one  day,  not 

knowing  of  Mrs.  F being  sick.     I  took  in  the  situation  at  once, 

and  afterward  ran  down  morning  and  evening,  did  what  I  could  for  the 
mother,  and  washed,  dressed,  fed,  and  otherwise  attended  to  the  little 
one.     Mrs.  F would  often  say : 

"Oh,  how  can  I  ever  pay  you  for  you  kindness  to  me  and  my  baby." 

I  would  laugh,  and  say:  "I  am  not  working  for  pay.  Who  knows, 
but  this  little  lady  will  pay  me  some  day  in  kind,  and  do  for  me  what 
I  can  not  do  for  myself." 

The  sick  mother  would  smile,  and  say,  "God  bless  you." 

Time  passed,  and  memory  slept.  I  had  visited  foreign  lands,  and 
had  returned  to  America.  I  met  with  an  accident,  which  laid  me  up 
for  many  months.  When  convalescent,  but  very  lame  and  helpless,  I 
was  on  a  visit  to  a  friend,  whose  daughter  was  waiting  on  me  very 
kindly  one  morning,  when  memory  awoke.     I  called  to  Miss  Mary, 

'  'You  are  paying  a  debt  that  you  incurred  when  you  were  a  wee 
helpless  thing.  I  was  about  to  overwhelm  you  with  thanks,  but  I  shall 
refrain." 

This  was  Miss  M.  F ,  the  helpless  babe  whom  I  had  nursed,  who 

was  now  nursing  me.  "Whatsoever  measure  you  mete,  it  shall  be 
measured  to  you  again." 

I  was  with  Mr.  Campbell  at  a  State  meeting  at  Lexington,  Kentucky. 
Ere  we  parted,  I  asked  him  to  have  me  carried  to  Bethany,  and  laid 
as  near  as  possible  to  those  I  loved,  when  I  died.  This  he  promised 
to  do,  if  I  died  in  America. 

"But  why  talk  of  dying?  You  must  try  to  live,  and  be  happy,  and 
make  others  happy.  You  are  young  and  healthy,  and  are  being  use- 
ful, and  you  have  much  to  do  in  this  world  yet." 

Was  this  a  prophecy?  I  had  felt  ill  for  some  time,  but  had  struggled 
against  sickness.  I  was  low  in  spirits,  and  thought  more  about  death 
than  life. 

I  returned  to  Mount  Hope  and  resumed  my  duties.     I  cut  out  all 


AT  THE  KENTUCKY  FEMALE  ORPHAN  SCHOOL.  307 

the  winter  clothing,  cloaks,  hoods,  etc.,  for  all  the  girls.     The  sisters 
of  the  church  were  to  make  them  up  on  a  certain  day ;  but  ere  the 
busy  day  came,  which  had  always  been  a  happy  day  at  the  school, 
I  was  tossing  on  a  bed  of  pain.     Typhoid  pneumonia  had  laid  me 
low,  and  it  kept  me  in  bed  for  seven  weeks.     I  was  medicated  and 
tortured  with  blisters  and  baths  of  pepper  and  whisky,  and  hot  bricks 
and  bottles  of  hot  water,  until  the  doctors  said  I  was  proof  against 
medicine  and  Spanish  flies,  and  they  quit  prescribing  for  me.     They 
had  done  all  they  could,  and  they  gave  me  up  to  die.     The  room  was 
darkened,  and  the  night  watchers  appointed  to  sit  up  with  me  were 
asleep.     The  whole  house  was  hushed.     At  midnight  I  thought  I  saw 
a  misty  light  over  the  foot  of  my  bed,  faint  at  first,  but  it  grew  bright- 
er.    I  looked  at  it  steadily,  and  saw  two  beautiful  heads  and  faces 
looking  out  from  the  misty  light.      My  faint  pulse  quickened  with 
joy.     I  smiled,   and  tried  to  put  out  my  hand,   but  I  was  motion- 
less; and  I  cried,  "Dear  Miss  Clarinda  and  dear  Mary,  you  have  come 
for  me  and  I  am  ready;  wait  just  a  little  while  and  I  shall  go  with  you." 
But  they  did  not  wait  long.     The  remembrance  of  those  heavenly 
faces  lingers  with  me  still.     My  cry  of  joy  awoke  the  sleepers.     I 
calmed  their  fears,  and  told  them  to  sleep  again;  I  wanted  nothing. 
I  asked  myself  that  night  if  I  were  afraid  to  die?    JNo;  I  had  no  fear 
of  death.     I  tried  to  stretch  myself  out  as  if  in  my  winding-sheet.     I 
fancied  myself  in  my  coffin,   screwed  down,   and  lowered  into  the 
gloomy  darkness  of  the  grave.     Did  I  feel  afraid  ?     No ;  I  had  no 
fear.     My  body  only  would  be  put  away ;  my  spirit  would  be  with 
those  two  beautiful  beings  who  had  appeared  to  me.     I  asked  myself 
if  I  had  peace  with  myself?     Yes,  was  the  answer.     I  had  tried  to 
live  a  harmless,  useful  life.     Was  I  at  peace  with  the  world?     Yes; 
for  I  had  no  unkind  feeling  for  any  one  in  it.    I  freely  forgave  all  who 
had  ever  injured  me.     Was  I  at  peace  with  God?     Here  I  paused,  to 
think  of  all  the  good  deeds  I  had  done,  but  I  could  not  think  of  any. 
I    thought   of  all   my  badness,    my   rebellious   feelings   and   wicked 
thoughts.     Oh,  what  a  mountain  of  sin  hid  God  from  my  view.     I 
had  nothing  to  commend  me  to  him;  nothing.     I  just  laid  all  my 
good  and  bad  deeds  at  the  foot  of  the  Cross,  and  laid  myself  close  to 
it,  and  asked  Christ  to  wash  me  clean  in  his  blood,  and  present  my 
purified  spirit  to  his  Father.     In  Christ  I  had  peace  with  God.     Oh, 
how  precious  was  Christ  to  me  in  tliat  hour!     I  thought  I  had  always 
loved  him;  but  as  my  naked  soul  was  about  to  enter  the  presence  of 
its  Creator,  he  was  inexpressibly  precious.     I  clung  to  him,  and  longed 


2oS  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE, 

to  be  with  him.  The  world  and  all  its  concerns  had  vanished  out  of 
my  life.  I  had  no  home  in  it.  Everything  had  grown  dark.  Heaven 
alone  looked  bright,  and  I  felt  happy  at  the  near  prospect  of  soon  being 
at  home.  My  friends  were  all  kind;  they  came  to  see  me;  that  was 
all  they  could  do.  I  received  a  sweet  little  note  from  one  of  my 
friends  after  she  had  been  to  take  a  last  farewell  of  me.     It  ran  thus : 

Dear  Sister  Eliza: 

I  have  thought  much  of  you  since  yesterday  evening.  Some  expressions  fell  from 
your  lips  that  have  caused  me  to  reflect  much.  You  said  you  had  no  home  here, 
and  that  this  world  seemed  dark  to  you  when  compared  to  the  brighter  one 
above ;  or  as  I  understood  you,  that  you  could  look  forward  to  the  change  that 
awaited  you  (in  common  with  us  all)  without  fear  or  alarm,  never  thinking  of  the 
grave,  but  only  thinking  of  and  contemplating  the  joys  that  were  in  reservation 
for  the  faithful.  I  could  desire  no  greater  earthly  bliss  than  just  such  a  state  of 
mind.  And  although  I  might  be  homeless,  and  even  friendless,  I  would  account 
myself  most  happy  in  being  thus  enabled  by  the  grace  of  God  to  say,  "not  my 
will,  but  thine,  O  Lord,  be  done."  I  have  heard  persons  talk  thus  when  in 
health,  and  looking  at  death  as  being  far  removed  from  them;  I  have  also  heard 
them  when  worn  by  disease,  or  when  some  gr'^at  calamity  had  befallen  them; 
but  rarely  have  I  heard  such  sentiments  uttered  calmly  and  composedly  under 
circumstances  when  they  could  realize  that  they  MUST  taste  of  death,  and  that 
perhaps  at  no  distant  day.  I  fear  I  shall  never  attain  to  such  an  eminent  degree  of 
piety;  but  still  I  hope,  the  Lord  being  my  helper.  A  very  few  words  sometimes, 
spoken  by  one  we  know  is  given  to  serious  meditation,  will  be  of  more  real  value 
to  us  than  volumes  written.  I  felt  after  visiting  your  sick-bed  that  my  time  had 
not  been  unprofitably  spent,  although  I  had  it  not  in  my  power  to  administer  to 
you  in  any  way.  I  there  learned  a  lesson  I  trust  I  shall  never  forget:  perfect 
resignation  to  God's  will  and  patience  under  all  our  afflictions.  May  you  soon 
be  restored  to  health  and  usefulness  is  my  prayer.     Farewell. 

Mary  M.  Parrish. 

It  was  Mrs.  Richard  Parrish  (sister-in-law  to  Mr.  James  Parrish) 
whose  hand  traced  the  above  lines.  The  heart  that  dictated  and  the 
hand  that  traced  them  lie  pulseless  and  cold  in  the  silent  tomb,  and  I 
have  lived  to  transcribe  them.  The  ways  of  God  are  mysterious,  and 
past  finding  out.  My  poor  emaciated  frame  had  rest  from  being  ex- 
perimented upon  by  the  doctors.  For  days  my  life  hung  by  a  hair; 
but  the  doctors  said  that  nature  was  doing  quietly,  slowly,  but  surely, 
the  work  of  healing,  unassisted  by  them.  I  was  pronounced  out  of 
danger ;  they  thought  I  would  get  well.  Sad  news  for  me ;  I  had  no 
desire  to  get  well.  I  did  not  wish  to  live.  I  feared  to  come  back  to 
the  world.  I  feared  to  offend  my  Savior  by  my  rebellious  thoughts 
and  questionings.  I  would  far  rather  go  home  and  be  safe  with  him. 
beyond  the  reach  of  sin. 


AT  THE  KENTUCKY  FEMALE  ORPHAN  SCHOOL.  309 

"Oh,"  I  cried,  "how  hard  it  is  to  live;  how  much  easier  it  is  to 
die." 

I  wept  in  spirit  at  the  dark  prospect  of  coming  back  again  to  the 
world.  This  was  not  submission.  After  being  pronounced  out  of 
immediate  danger  of  dying,  my  first  act  was  to  rebel.  I  prayed  to 
God  to  make  me  willing  to  live,  if  he  so  willed  it.  I  did  not  wish  to 
rebel,  but  I  was  very  sad.  I  had  a  long  convalescence.  Miss  Lummie 
Davis  brought  me  a  beautiful  bouquet  one  day.  My  thoughts  grew 
tender  as  I  looked  on  the  sweet  silent  flowers.  They  reminded  me  of 
God's  goodness  in  beautifying  earth  for  man's  enjoyment.  He  could 
have  made  trees,  shrubs,  and  all  kinds  of  vegetables  useful  for  man, 
to  grow  without  a  single  flower.  But  God  wished  to  give  his  creatures 
pleasure;  so  he  made  the  beautiful  flowers.  How  I  caressed  these 
little  earth  gems;  they  brought  me  pleasure,  they  brought  me  hope.  I 
kissed  the  dainty  buds,  and  thanked  God  for  flov/ers.  Slowly  I  came 
back  to  life  and  health.  Some  months  after  I  rose  from  my  sick-bed, 
I  was  trying  to  run  up-stairs  as  of  yore,  but  my  limbs  refused  to  do  their 
duty.  My  knees  would  shake  and  tremble,  and  I  would  sit  down  on 
the  stair  and  wonder  if  I  could  get  strong  again.  My  flying  leaps 
up  and  down  stairs  seemed  to  be  at  an  end. 

Mrs.  Gen.  Keene,  daughter-in-law  to  Mrs.  Dr.  Keene  of  George- 
town, invited  me  to  spend  a  winter  with  them  on  their  plantation  in 
Louisiana,  where  I  should  regain  my  strength ;  other  inducements  were 
offered.  The  invitation  was  most  opportune.  My  heart  was  in  the 
orphan  school,  but  I  had  no  strength  to  perform  my  duties.  In  ac- 
cepting Mrs.  Keene's  invitation,  besides  the  inducements  she  offered, 
I  greatly  desired  strength  if  I  had  to  live.  I  made  preparations  to 
leave  the  orphan  school  for  a  time,  and  take  a  journey  to  a  part  of  the 
States  which  always  had  a  fascination  for  me.  So  in  the  fall  of  1853 
I  took  my  departure  for  new  scenes  and  associations. 


CHAPTER  Xin. 

PLANTATION    LIFE   IN   THE   SOUTH, 

En  route  to  the  South,  we  remained  a  few  days  at  the  elegant  resi- 
dence of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  EUiotte  (sister  and  brother-in-law  of  Gen. 
Keene),  at  Louisville.  Captain  Sherley  and  his  sisters  came  to  see  me. 
Dr.  Theodore  Bell  and  his  daughter  also  came  to  see  me.  The  doctor 
took  a  great  interest  in  me,  and  called  me  his  Australian  sister.  This 
my  first  visit  to  Louisville  was  made  very  pleasant  by  seeing  so  many 
friends,  each  more  kind  than  the  other. 

At  Portland  we  went  on  board  the  floating  palace  Shotwell.  We 
had  on  board  a  large  crowd  of  wealthy,  fashionable  people — planters 
and  their  families.  I  tried  to  study  the  faces  I  saw,  and  write  a  men- 
tal character  of  each.  Meantime,  I  had  a  book  in  my  hand,  which  I 
neglected  to  read.  I  was  so  absorbed  in  my  new  study  that  I  fre- 
quently held  it  upside  down,  to  my  own  and  others'  amusement. 
Dancing,  cards  and  flirtation  were  the  vogue  on  board.  As  Bishop 
Otey,  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  did  not  dance,  we  sometimes  met  on 
the  guards  and  had  a  chat.  One  day  he  asked  me  what  book  inter- 
ested me  so.  I  handed  him  "Cowper's  Task."  He  asked  me  if  I 
belonged  to  the  church.  I  told  him  yes,  but  not  to  the  Episcopal 
Church. 

"To  what  denomination  do  you  belong?" 

''To  the  Christian  Church,"  I  replied. 

The  bishop  had  been  writing  in  my  book  while  we  were  talking. 
On  the  fly-leaf  was  written  his  autograph,  the  name  of  the  boat,  and 
date,  with  a  verse  of  poetry.  He  was  a  very  pleasant  gentleman. 
When  we  reached  Cairo,  I  looked  and  saw  the  wide  and  winding 
Mississippi  lying  before  me.  How  grand  I  thought  it  looked;  but  death 
lurked  beneath  its  surface,  in  the  shape  of  fang-like  snags.  A  large 
boat  lay  beneath  its  waters,  with  its  chimneys  standing  above  as  bea- 
cons to  warn  others.  It  had  been  snagged  and  sunk,  and  several 
lives  lost  a  few  days  before.  It  is  difficult  to  realize,  while  sitting  in 
the  luxurious  saloon,  sailing  so  smoothly,  that  danger  lurks  near. 
How  necessary  to  have  an  unseen  arm  to  protect  us.  We  ran  aground 
on  several  sand-banks,  and  had  a  narrow  escape  from  an  explosion. 

(310) 


PLANTATION  LIFE  IX  THE  SOUTH.  3II 

We,  however,  landed  safely  at  Gen.  Keene's  plantation.  Everything 
on  a  cotton  plantation  was  new  and  strange  to  me,  and  of  course  in- 
terested me  much.  My  first  night  I  slept  in  a  room  which  had  evi- 
dently been  occupied  by  a  hunter.  The  Sylvan  Hall  of  Roderick  Dhu 
was  here  in  miniature,  with  its  guns,  pistols,  game-bags,  shot-belts, 
deers'  horns  and  fishing  tackle  of  every  kind,  and  to  crown  all,  on 
top  of  a  press  I  saw  as  I  looked  up  a  pair  of  great  glaring  eyes  staring 
at  me,  a  mouth  wide  open,  with  large,  sharp  teeth  ready  to  devour 
me,  and  two  huge  paws  ready  to  pounce  down  upon  his  prey.  I 
started  at  the  sight,  but  in  a  minute  I  saw  and  was  satisfied  that  his 
panthership  was  a  trophy  of  the  chase,  preserved  and  stuffed.  I  had 
more  agreeable  quarters  after  that  night. 

I  had  a  great  desire  to  see  slavery  as  it  existed  in  the  South.  I  had 
seen  it  in  a  very  mild  form  in  Kentucky,  but  now  I  expected  to  see  it 
as  I  had  read  of  it  in  books.  But  on  this  and  the  surrounding  plan- 
tations I  was  agreeably  disappointed.  The  slaves  were  well  cared  for 
(but  they  were  slaves).  I  was  at  six  weddings  on  Christmas  day.  The 
slaves  did  all  their  courting  through  the  year,  and  did  the  marrying 
Christmas  week,  when  they  had  a  merry  time.  The  planters  lived 
free  and  easy  in  their  splendid  hospitality;  were  generous  and  chival- 
rous. The  appliances  of  wealth  surrounded  them,  and  charmed  the 
senses.  I  fully  appreciated  and  enjoyed  plantation  life.  What  with 
reading,  hunting,  listening  to  traveler's  tales  and  visiting,  the  winter 
passed  quickly.  I  grew  strong  again,  my  health  returned  in  full 
vigor,  and  I  was  truly  grateful. 

Letters  from  Brother  Parrish  and  other  friends  at  Midway,  brim- 
full  of  love,  came  to  me,  asking  me  to  return  quickly  as  possible.  I 
was  wanted  in  Kentucky;  the  orphans  wanted  me. 

In  early  spring  Gen.  Keene  sickened  and  died.  He  called  for  me 
about  two  hours  before  he  died,  took  a  most  affectionate  farewell  of 
me,  and  said: 

"God  bless  you." 

I  saw  him  no  more  till  I  saw  him  in  his  coffin,  handsomely  dressed 
in  broadcloth,  and  lying  as  if  he  was  asleep.  While  the  five  children 
slept  in  the  room  I  called  Sylvan  Hall,  I  kept  watch  by  them  all 
night,  and  listened  to  the  melancholy  howling  of  the  wolves  which 

were  prowling   around.     Mrs.    K told  me  after  her  husband's 

death,  that  in  consequence  of  a  conversation  I  had  with  the  general 
when  I  first  went  to  the  South  on  the  human  rights  of  the  negro,  he 
had  allowed  no  Sunday  work  on  his  plantation.     I  was  glad  to  hear 


-12  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

that  the  poor  slave  had  some  consideration  shown  him  through  my 
instrumentahty.  Two  other  plantations  gave  up  Sunday  work  for  the 
same  reasons  that  I  gave  the  general. 

'^Ixs.  K had  taken  her  children  to  Missouri.     I  was  on  the 

plantation  alone  waiting  for  a  Kentucky  boat,  when  Mrs.  Col.  B ,  of 

Lake  Providence,  invited  me  to  stay  with  her  till  the  boat  came.  On 
the  ni'^ht  I  went  to  her  house  she  had  a  grand  party.  Dancing,  drink- 
UY\  playing  cards  and  other  games  were  in  order.  I  soon  found  that 
I  was  not  in  my  proper  place.  Next  morning  before  breakfast  a 
negress  came  to  me,  and  said : 
"Please,  Missus  wants  ya." 

I  followed  my  sable  guide  to  Mrs.  B 's  sitting-room,  where  sat 

the  beautiful  hostess  with  her  two  pretty  young  sisters.  Mrs.  Colonel 
B ,  with  severity  in  her  tone,  asked  me  why  I  had  acted  so  singu- 
larly the  night  before.     I  asked  to  what  she  alluded. 

*  'Why,  you  refused  to  dance  or  play  with  our  distinguished  guest. 
You  offended  him.     Do  you  know  who  he  is?" 

"I  do  not,  nor  does  it  matter  to  me  who  or  what  he  is;  were  he  a 
Christian,  he  would  not  be  offended  at  my  conduct." 

Mi-s,  -Q then  said:   "I  object  to  it.     The  usages  of  good  society 

demand  that  you  conform  to  them,  and  dancing  is  quite  an  accom- 
plishment, and  can  not  be  dispensed  with." 

"When  I  moved  in  good  society  I  thought  as  you  do,  and  I  danced 
away  my  precious  time,  nor  ever  thought  of  death  or  eternity;  but  I 
moved  from  good  to  better  society.  I  left  the  dance  and  the  theater 
behind.  I  now  belong  to  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  consider  all  these 
things  beneath  my  high  calling  in  Christ.  I  now  move  in  a  higher 
plane  than  I  once  did,  and  I  look  down  upon  all  such  scenes  as  were 
presented  at  your  house  last  night  with  supreme  contempt.  I  told  you 
the  last  time  I  was  here  at  a  party  never  to  ask  me  to  a  dance-party 
again,  as  I  objected  to  them." 

"Does  your  church  forbid  your  dancing?"  she  asked. 
I  answered  that  I  did  not  know,  as  I  never  had  made  the  inquiry. 
"I  am  accountable  to  a  higher  court,"  I  said,  "for  my  actions.  I 
find  the  rules  for  my  conduct  in  the  Bible,  not  in  the  church,  and  by 
conforming  to  them,  I  hope  to  rise  from  the  better  to  the  best  society, 
even  that  of  Christ  and  his  angels,  and  the  just  made  perfect  in  heav- 
en." 

While  I  was  being  arraigned  at  the  bar  of  this  fashionable  court. 
Col.  B came  in.     He  said  : 


PLANTATION  LIFE  IN  THE  SOUTH.  313 

"You  are  a  lady  after  my  own  heart.  You  are  not  ashamed  in 
Louisiana  of  reUgion  you  profess  in  Kentucky,  and  you  act  your 
religion  out,  and  defend  your  actions.    I  admire  your  moral  courage." 

"Colonel,"  said  his  beautiful  wife,  "I  am  beginning  to  think  our 
friend  is  right,  and  I  wish  I  could  think  and  act  so.  You  say  she  is  a 
lady  after  your  own  heart.  I  can  say  the  same,  and  when  I  die  I  do 
not  know  any  one  I  should  like  so  well  to  raise  my  children  as  she. 
Will  you  promise  me,  Colonel,  to  marry  her  when  I  am  dead?" 

"My  dear,"  her  husband  said,  "you  forget  our  friend  may  not  wish 
to  marry  me." 

Ske  looked  at  me  and  was  about  to  speak,  when  I  said : 

"You  may  die  sooner  than  you  think  or  wish,  and  you  ought  not 
to  make  light  of  so  serious  a  matter." 

As  I  had  prepared  to  go  to  the  hotel  at  the  lake  to  wait  for  the  boat, 
I  excused  myself  from  further  conversation. 

The  boat  at  last  came  up  from  New  Orleans.  I  went  on  board. 
The  heat  was  stifling,  and  I  sat  outside  my  state-room  door  on  the 
guards,  looking  into  the  dark,  rolling  river.  The  paddles  of  the  boat 
stopped,  and  I  saw  a  yawl  push  off  for  the  land.  It  was  rowed  si- 
lently with  muffled  oars.  I  watched  it  intendy  till  her  crew  landed 
with  a  load,  which  they  deposited  under  a  cottenwood-tree,  then  re- 
gained their  yawl  and  rowed  to  the  steamer,  and  then  we  moved  on. 
Why  a  boat  with  muffled  oars  should  land  and  leave  a  load  of  anything 
at  the  water's  edge  under  a  tree,  where  was  no  plantation,  seemed  to 
me  just  a  little  mysterious.  Next  night  I  could  not  sleep,  the  heat 
was  so  great,  and  again  I  sat  on  the  guards.  It  was  midnight  on  the 
mighty  Mississippi.  The  stars  sent  out  a  clear  but  pale  light.  I 
thought  all  on  board  were  asleep.  Everything  except  the  paddles 
was  hushed  in  silence;  presendy  they  were  silent,  and  a  yawl  with 
'rrtuffled  oars  darted  from  the  side  of  the  steamer  to  the  shore,  as  it  had 
done  the  night  before.  The  crew  landed  and  deposited  a  load  at  the 
water's  edge  as  on  the  previous  night,  and  when  they  regained  their 
boat,  they  as  quickly  as  possible  rowed  for  the  steamer,  and  then  we 
moved  on.  A  mystery  was  surely  on  hand;  what  could  it  be?  I  am 
not  over  curious,  but  I  did  wish  to  have  the  mystery  cleared  up.  I  was 
ttfraid  to  ask  the  captain  or  clerk,  for  I  did  not  know  them,  and  they 
might  think  I  ought  to  be  elsewhere  than  on  the  guards  at  midnight 
tvatching  their  actions.  Nobody  on  board  seemed  to  know  of  these 
midnight  excursions  but  myself,  and  I  kept  silent.  Hut  a  third  night  and 
two  boat-loads  were  landed,  and  left  as  before  in  the  same  mysterious 


-,1^  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

manner.  I  was  interested  from  the  first,  but  now  I  was  excited,  and 
I  determined,  if  possible,  to  solve  the  mystery  by  speaking  pubUcly  of 
what  I  had  seen.  I  did  so,  and  the  startling  fact  was  elicited  that  the 
Asiatic  cholera  was  on  board  the  steamer.  A  great  many  German 
immigrants  had  been  taken  on  board  in  the  steerage  at  New  Orleans 
who  were  sick,  and  the  fell  disease  spread  amongst  them,  and  they 
were  dying  like  sheep,  and  were  carried  to  the  brink  of  the  river  to  be 
carried  away  by  its  waters,  or  swallowed  by  alligators.  One  whole 
family,  father,  mother,  sisters  and  brothers,  eight  in  all,  were  swept  off, 
and  left  one  poor  little  helpless  girl  without  clothing;  for  all  that  the 
poor  people  had  was  burned.  We  ladies  of  the  saloon  set  to  work 
and  made  some  clothing  for  the  little  orphan.  The  first  little  frock 
we  made  her  was  put  on  her  to  bury  her  in.  We  bought  her  shoes 
and  stockings  at  Memphis,  but  gave  them  to  another  child  left  equally 
destitute.  This  second  landed  at  Louisville,  but  died  while  they  were 
carrying  her  to  the  hospital. 

After  we  passed  Cairo,  we  stopped  to  let  a  passenger  land,  whose 
cabin  was  on  the  beautiful  bank  of  the  Ohio.  A  few  weeks  ago,  he 
had  gone  down  the  river  on  a  flatboat,  sold  his  goods,  and  was  return- 
ing to  his  family  with  his  earnings.  He  had  nursed  faithfully  one  after 
another  of  the  family,  whose  last  we  had  in  vain  provided  for.  He 
was  taken  ill  just  before  landing,  and  was  lifted  in  the  arms  of  the  men, 
who  took  him  ashore.  His  wife,  who  was  on  the  lookout  for  him, 
rushed  down  to  meet  her  husband.  She  threw  her  arms  around  his 
neck,  and  called  out: 

"Oh,  Tom,  what  ails  you,"  and  she  kissed  a  corpse. 
The  woman  fell  to  the  ground  with  a  terrible  shriek.  The  men  car- 
ried the  corpse  into  the  cabin,  and  left  it  there.  They  left  the  woman 
prostrate  on  the  ground,  and  then  ran  to  their  yawl,  and  came  on 
board,  and  we  moved  off  as  quickly  as  possible.  Nearly  all  the  steer- 
age passengers  had  died,  and  those  yet  alive  were  sick.  Consternation 
spread  in  the  saloon  when  one  young  lady  sickened.  I  waited  on  her. 
I  knew  that  I  was  in  God's  hand,  whether  I  lived  or  died;  I  had  no 
fear.  The  young  lady  was  landed  alive,  but  I  do  not  know  whether 
she  Uved  or  died.  That  was  a  most  harrowing  trip;  I  was  glad  to  land. 
Dr.  Elliotte  was  at  Portland  with  his  carriage,  waiting  to  take  me  to 
his  elegant  home,  to  spend  a  few  days  before  going  farther. 

Captain  S was  among  the  first  to  welcome  me  back  to  Ken- 
tucky. As  I  had  promised,  I  went  to  visit  his  sisters  in  their  elegant 
country  homes — Mrs.  Colonel  Ormsby,  a  very  lovely,  mild  and  gentle 


PLANTATION  LIFE  IN  THE  SOUTH.  315 

lady,  with  a  very  interesting  family;  Mrs.  Herr,  a  whole-souled,  warm- 
hearted hospitable  woman;  Mrs.  Dr.  Frederick,  Mrs.  Scott  and  Mrs. 
Jane  Sherley,  a  widow  lady,  the  eldest  of  the  family,  a  queenly  woman, 
as  good  as  she  was  grand-looking.  If  these  noble  women  were  not 
elders  in  the  church,  as  their  brother  jokingly  styled  them,  they  were 
assuredly  Christian  ladies,  and  every  one  kinder  to  me  than  another. 
The  whole  family  seemed  to  take  me  into  their  hearts  at  first  sight. 
For  this  kindness  I  had  to  thank  Captain  S . 

Before  I  left  the  South,  I  had  one  day  eaten  a  philopena  with  a 
friend  (A.  K.  R.),  and  obtained  the  forfeit.  A  Tunis  silk  purse,  with 
a  check  for  fifty  dollars  in  it,  was  handed  to  me.  This  money  I  handed 
to  Mr.  Parrish  for  the  Orphan  School  at  Midway,  as  well  as  other 
moneys  that  I  had  collected  for  the  school. 

I  spent  a  pleasant  summer  between  Georgetown  and  Midway. 
When  the  summer  was  ended,  I  prepared  to  return  to  the  Suave  Terre 

Plantation,  as  I  had  promised  to  teach  Mrs.  K 's  orphans,  and 

keep  her  company.  All  my  friends  vied  with  each  other  in  kind  atten- 
tions to  me.  My  head  was  not  turned,  however,  as  some  feared  it 
might  be.  "Friends  are  God's  gifts,  and  we  may  love  them  wisely, 
but  not  too  well."  I  have  asked  the  question  often  of  myself,  how  can 
I  love  my  friends  too  well,  when  they  lavish  such  a  wealth  of  love  on  me? 

We  went  on  board  the  palatial  steamer  Shotwell,  and  had  a  delight- 
ful trip.  The  company  was  pleasant,  the  fare  good,  and  all  were  in 
fine  spirits.  Miss  Mary  Bryan,  a  friend  of  mine,  who  married  Ur.  H. 
Blackburn,  was  being  taken  by  her  husband  to  his  Southern  home. 
She  was  beautiful,  and  he  was  devoted.  Yellow  fever  had  raged  all 
the  summer  and  the  early  fall,  and  when  we  touched  at  Lake  Provi- 
dence to  land  passengers,  a  funeral  procession  passed.  I  inquired 
who  was  being  carried  to  the  last  resting-place.     To  my  amazement, 

I  was  told  that  the  beautiful  and  sparkling  Mrs.  Colonel  B had  tlie 

day  before  fallen  a  victim  to  the  fell  destroyer,  and  was  being  borne  to 
her  tomb.  Stricken  down  in  the  bloom  of  beauty,  in  the  midst  of 
every  worldly  enjoyment,  much  against  her  will.  In  the  midst  of  her 
agony,  she  cried  out,  "I  can  not,  shall  not,  will  not  die."  But  death 
had  marked  her  for  his  own.  She  spurned  him  from  her,  but  he  would 
not  let  her  go.  Yellow  fever  and  death  were  holding  high  carnival  all 
around  us,  yet  I  was  preserved.  God  was  good  to  me.  I  asked  what 
I  could  render  to  Him  for  all  his  goodness  to  me. 

Governor  T ,  of  Mississippi,  was  on  board,  and  was  introduced 

to  me,  and  we  became  for  a  time  good  friends.    We  had  a  great  many 


3l6  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

friendly  discussions  on  religious  topics.  He  was  a  splendid-looking 
man,  talented  and  wealthy.  He  had  asked  me  to  be  his  life  compan- 
ion, and  offered  me  many  inducements  to  marry  him.  He  said  he 
panted  for  a  mind  that  could  appreciate  his  own,  and  he  knew  I  could. 
I  told  him  I  was  not  so  sure  that  I  could  appreciate  any  man's  mind 
Vv'ho  did  not  believe  the  great  center  truth  of  the  Bible,  and  I  did  not 
believe  any  man  could  appreciate  my  mind  if  he  were  not  a  Christian. 
We  had  some  very  plain  talk.  He  was  a  man  of  strong,  subtile  mind, 
and  might  have  tried  to  unhinge  my  faith  in  Christ,  and  put  my  soul 
in  jeopardy.  "And  what  would  it  profit,  if  I  gained  the  whole  world, 
and  lost  my  own  soul?"  When  I  had  been  a  short  time  on  the  plan- 
tation, I  received  a  long  letter  and  a  book  from  the  governor.  He 
said  he  believed  the  reason  why  I  refused  all  his  kind  offers  was  be- 
cause he  was  a  Universalist.  He  said  if  I  would  read  the  book  that  he 
sent  me  carefully,  I  would  see  his  reasons  for  his  belief.  He  hoped  it 
would  satisfy  me.  He  said,  with  my  permission,  he  would  come  and 
see  me.  The  carriage  that  he  bought  for  me  at  Memphis  was  of  little 
value  to  him,  unless  the  one  for  whom  it  was  bought  would  use  it. 
He  would  drive  down  in  it,  and  see  how  I  liked  it. 

I  read  the  book  through  carefully,  and  answered  his  long,  kind  letter. 
I  told  him  that  I  saw  nothing  in  the  book  to  prefer  to  the  Bible,  and 
if  he  would  read  the  Bible  carefully,  he  would  see  my  reasons  for  my 
belief,  and  I  hoped  they  would  satisfy  him.  I  thanked  him  for  all  his 
intended  kindnesses,  but  I  could  not  avail  myself  of  them.  So  far  as 
driving  me  out  in  his  beautiful  carriage  was  concerned,  I  told  him  my 
time  would  be  so  fully  occupied  teaching,  that  I  could  not  accept  of 
his  kindness  in  this  matter.  I  sent  back  his  book,  and  told  him  that 
my  letter  required  no  answer,  and  thus  ended  our  acquaintance,  a  very 
pleasant  one  while  it  lasted. 

Another  winter  passed  pleasantly  in  teaching  and  reading,  writing  to 

friends,  and  listening  to  traveler's  tales  from  Mr.  A.  K.  R ,  Mr. 

M.  K and  Y ,  who  had  traveled  much  in  foreign  lands.     The 

time  to  leave  the  South  rolled  round,  and  we  left  it  to  spend  the  sum- 
mer in  a  cooler  clime. 

While  in  Kentucky,  I  was  called  upon  to  weep  with  those  who  weep, 
and  rejoice  with  those  who  rejoice.  The  beautiful  and  stately  Mrs. 
Leonidas  Johnson,  who  had  spent  a  few  delightful  weeks  with  us  in 
the  South,  enlivening  the  house  with  her  brightness,  was  called  upon 
to  weep  for  the  loss  of  a  beloved  child.  She  felt  the  loss  very  keenly ; 
but  what  mother  does  not  feel  the  loss  of  a  child?    When  I  went  to 


PLANTATION  LIFE  IN  THE  SOUTH.  3 It 

see  her,  her  head  was  bowed  in  grief,  -and  the  whole  family  were  in 
deep  sorrow.  But  it  was  well  with  the  lovely,  caressing  little  Irene; 
she  was  happy.  May  it  be  well  with  the  parents  and  the  other  mem- 
bers of  the  family,  when  they  are  called  upon  to  leave  this  world. 

Dr.  Bell,  of  Louisville,  who  had  taken  a  deep  interest  in  me,  was  a 
profound  scholar  and  philosopher.  I  was  driving  with  him  one  day, 
when  he  was  going  round  to  his  patients. 

"Well,  dear  Sister  Eliza,  what  have  you  been  reading  last  winter?" 
asked  the  doctor. 

I  said,  with  a  litde  pride  of  manner,  "I  have  been  studying  Types  of 
Mankind,  a  literary  cenotaph  to  the  memory  of  Dr.  Morton,  the  great 
anthropologist." 

"Humph,"  said  Dr.  Bell,  ''Types  of  Mankind;  who  would  have 
thought  that  you  would  poison  your  mind  with  reading  such  a  work, 
so  full  of  subtile  deadly  poison.     You  must  have  an  antidote." 

"Well,  doctor,  prescribe,"  I  said;  "but  you  must  not  think  I  have 
received  much  injury.  I  confess  I  was  led  to  the  shore  of  a  sea,  over 
which  I  floated  in  chaotic  dOubt  for  about  two  weeks.  The  narrow 
edge  of  the  wedge  of  doubt  made  a  scratch  on  my  mind's  surface.  In 
God's  strength,  however,  I  roused,  and  read  the  work  to  the  end.  I 
discovered  the  aim  of  the  authors,  and  escaped  their  coils,  and  I  love 
the  Bible  better  now  than  ever  I  did." 

The  doctor  was  very  direct  and  pointed  in  his  speech.     He  said : 

"You  had  no  business  to  read  that  work;  ladies,  as  a  rule,  let  such 
works  lie  on  the  shelf;  they  are  deep,  dry  and  subtile.  You  are  the 
only  lady  I  know  who  has  read  the  work." 

I  said  that  I  was  glad  I  read  it;  I  was  interested  in  it,  and  gained 
much  valuable  information,  and  I  escaped  from' its  infidelity  unscathed. 

"For  the  poison  that  is  left  in  your  system,  Sister  Eliza,  my  antidote 
is  for  you  to  read  and  carefully  study  The  Life  and  History  of  Paul  and 
His  Epistles,  by  Conybeare  and  Howson.  Make  that  great  work,  with 
your  Bible,  your  study  this  winter,  and  I  know  you  will  feel  better  for 
the  study  of  them,  than  you  did  from  the  study  of  the  great  cenotaph." 
I  highly  appreciated  the  interest  the  doctor  took  in  my  spiritual 
welfare,  and  I  took  his  advice;  bought  Conybeare  &  Howson's  great 
work,  and  studied  it  with  profit. 

This  year  we  went  South  too  soon.  The  yellow-fever  had  not  yet 
disappeared.  I  was  no  coward,  but  I  should  not  have  gone  voluntarily 
down  the  river  into  the  jaws  of  the  yellow  monster.  I  wrote  to  friends 
in  Kentucky  how  they  were  to  dispose  of  my  effects  if  I  fell  a  vie- 


31 8  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

lim  to  the  fever,  and  then  committed  myself  to  the  care  of  my  heav- 
enly Father. 

Letters,  from  Midway  told  me  of  the  very  delicate  health  of  my  dear 
Brother  Parrish.     Mrs.  S wrote  to  me,  and  said: 

"Mr.  Parrish  is  far  from  getting  well;  he  thinks  he  must  go;  he  has 
no  hope  of  ever  getting  well  again,  and  he  is  setting  his  house  in  or- 
der. Sue,  it  seems,  is  quite  unconscious  of  his  state ;  perhaps  it  is  best 
so.  What  I  wish  particularly  to  say  is,  that  you  must  not  make  any 
arrangements  to  visit  this  summer,  but  stay  with  us.  In  all  probabihty 
it  will  be  the  last  you  will  spend  with  him,  and  he  wishes  you  to  be 
with  him.  I  wish  you  were  with  us  now.  When  you  come  up  the 
river  come  direct  to  us,  for  the  sake  of  him  who  is  passing  away.  He, 
with  us  all,  sends  much  love."     *    *    * 

A  letter  from  New  South  Wales  told  me  of  my  sister's  illness  and 
her  request  that  I  return  to  that  country,  but  the  letter  was  seven 
months  coming  to  me.  When  it  was  written,  she  was  at  the  point  of 
death.  She  urged  my  return  to  Australia;  she  appealed  to  my  sympa- 
thies; she  knew  my  vulnerable  part;  she  offered  me  every  inducement  to 
return.  Her  letter  was  full  of  kindly  expressions.  (A  new  thing  for 
her  to  so  express  herself  to  me.)  I  thought  sickness  had  changed 
her  nature  somewhat,  and  of  this  I  was  glad.  That  letter  gave  me 
great  trouble.  I  did  not  know  what  to  do.  Duties  are  sometimes  well 
defined;  we  can  not  but  see  them  if  our  inclinations  do  not  blind  us. 
This  I  did  know,  that  the  two  great  contending  motives  were  drawing 
me  either  way.  First,  my  sister  had  many  friends,  but,  as  she  said  she 
had  but  one  sister.  She  thought  her  three  little  children  would  be  left 
motherless,  and  who  could  be  to  them  a  mother  like  her  sister? 

"Come  to  my  home;  it  is  yours.  We  are  building  and  remodeling 
houses,  and  preparing  for  long  life,  but  I  fear  I  must  die,"  she  said. 

From  this  view  I  felt  it  was  my  duty  to  go.  But  again  I  hesitated. 
I  did  not  like  New  South  Wales,  nor  did  I  think  I  ever  could;  but 
this  was  a  small  matter  and  easily  overruled.  But  then,  I  loved  Amer- 
ica, its  people,  its  institutions.  I  loved  my  friends,  my  Christian 
friends  especially.  I  loved  the  Church  of  Christ  and  its  ordinances. 
All  these  I  would  have  to  sacrifice.  And  what  a  sacrifice!  My  life 
would  seem  small  in  the  balance.  In  Sydney  Christianity  was  not 
popular ;  we  had  no  church  there.  I  would  have  to  make  new  friends 
there,  but  of  what  kind  of  material  ?  Certainly  nothing  congenial.  I 
thought  if  I  went  to  Sydney,  and  my  sister  were  to  live,  which  I  hoped 
she  would  many  years,  she  would  bring  up  her  children  herself.  Were 


PLANTATION  LIFE  IN  THE  SOUTH.  319 

she  to  die,  I  would  most  cheerfully  take  charge  of  her  little  ones,  but 
they  might  be  taken  from  me,  and  in  either  case  it  would  be  a  great 
sacrifice  on  my  part,  to  little  or  no  purpose.  Such  thoughts  coursed 
through  my  brain  on  receiving  my  sister's  letter.  Another  letter  from 
Australia  told  me  my  sister  was  alive  and  better,  which  was  a  great 
relief  to  my  mind. 

We  left  the  South,  and  while  at  Louisville  Captain  S came  to 

see  me,  and  brought  his  bride's  card  to  me,  saying: 

"You  would  not  take  me  for  a  husband,  but  I  hope  to  retain  your 
friendship." 

Which  he  did  till  he  died. 

I  hastened  to  the  bedside  of  my  sick  friend  and  brother,  and  enjoyed 
his  heavenly  conversation.  What  a  beautiful  picture  is  the  life  and  death 
of  a  Christian.  Here  was  a  man  of  God  who  felt  that  he  must  pass 
away.  His  sun  of  life  was  gradually  setting,  but  he  had  no  fear.  He 
was  going  out  of  the  world,  but  it  was  not  a  step  in  the  dark;  Christ 
was  with  him  in  the  shady  valley.  My  soul  was  refreshed  by  his  calm 
and  cheerful  aspect  and  holy  converse.  Brother  Parrish  told  me  he 
was  going  to  die;  he  could  not  tell  how  long  he  could  last,  but  he  had 
a  great  desire  that  I  should  be  near  him  in  his  last  days;  he  said  those 
whom  he  loved  most  he  wished  to  be  near  him  as  he  was  passing  away 
down  the  dark  valley,  and  he  would  be  the  first  to  greet  them  when 
they  reached  the  other  side  of  the  river.  He  begged  me  not  to  leave 
Kentucky  that  fall,  but  to  be  as  much  with  him  as  possible.  I  cheer- 
fully consented  to  his  earnest  request  to  remain  in  Kentucky  that 
winter.  I  was  being  weaned  from  earth,  as  I  listened  to  this  man  of 
God  talking  of  the  heavenly  home  to  which  he  was  going.  I  asked 
him  one  day  if  he  thought  it  a  possible  thing  to  carry  a  message  from 
a  human  being  in  the  flesh,  to  a  disembodied  spirit  in  tlie  other  world? 
He  turned  to  me  with  a  heavenly  light  in  his  eye,  and  said : 

"Eliza,  I  do  not  know  whether  it  be  possible,  but  if  it  is,  I  shall 
carry  your  message  to  Mary;  that  is  what  you  want,  is  it  not?" 

"Yes,  Brother  Parrish,  you  understand  me."  I  said. 

How  precious  were  his  words  of  encouragement,  cheerfully  spoken, 
to  the  lone  wanderer  traveling  along  life's  desert  path.  I  was  wiih  my 
departing  brother  as  much  as  I  could  be,  but  I  had  to  leave  him  for  a  few 
days,  and  I  purposed  when  I  returned  to  remain  with  him  till  he  left 
the  world.  I  knelt  by  his  couch;  he  threw  his  arms  round  my  neck 
and  kissed  me  farewell. 


320 


THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 


"God  bless  you  in  your  wanderings,  dear  sister.  I  shall  welcome 
you  home  by-and-by." 

He  was  calm,  but  I  wept  sore. 

"I  shall  soon  be  back,"  I  said. 

He  only  looked  at  me,  and  then  looked  heavenward.  We  met  no 
more.  He  died  the  second  day  after  I  left.  And  so  passed  away  this 
noble  Christian  man,  the  orphan's  friend,  and  the  founder  of  that 
grand  institution,  the  Female  Orphan  School,  of  Midway,  Ky.,  a  liv- 
ing monument  to  his  good  name.  He  is  another  link  to  the  chain 
that  binds  me  to  heaven.     His  widow  wrote  to  me  thus: 

My  Dear  Sister  Eliza: 

I  feel  that  I  ought  to  have  written  to  you  sooner,  but  my  heart  was  so  full  of 
sorrow  that  I  could  not  write.  Dear  sister,  I  feel  that  I  have  your  sympathy. 
*  *  *  Your  kindness  to  my  dear  husband  in  his  declining  days,  your  watchful- 
ness around  his  dying-bed,  can  never  be  forgotten  by  me,  and  you  will  always  be 
associated  in  my  mind  with  the  last  days  of  him  who  was  so  dear  to  me.  We 
so  often  speak  of  you  in  the  family.  He  who  was  your  friend  and  brother  is 
gone.  Oh,  how  sad  these  words  are  to  me;  but  why  should  they  be  sad,  since  I 
know  he  is  so  happy  in  that  heavenly  home  of  which  he  talked  so  much,  which 
indeed  was  his  theme  for  months  before  he  died?  *  *  «  I  regret  so  much 
that  you  did  not  stay  till  all  was  over.  Oh,  the  agony  of  the  last  few  hours 
none  can  tell  but  him  who  felt  it.  I  never  witnessed  such,  and  at  the  same  time 
such  resignation  and  Christian  triumph.  He  would  exclaim  in  the  midst  of  ex- 
treme suffering,  "Oh,  blessed  Father,  take  me  to  thyself,  that  where  thou  art  I 
may  be  also."  Just  a  few  moments  before  he  breathed  his  last,  he  seemed  to 
sink  into  a  quiet  slumber,  and  died  without  a  struggle.  I  must  tell  you  the  last 
words  uttered  by  him.  Oh,  how  precious  to  me  they  are:  "Bless  the  Lord,  O 
my  soul,  and  all  that  is  within  me  bless  his  holy  name."  Can  you,  dear  Eliza, 
think  how  lonely  and  desolate  our  once  sweet  and  happy  home  has  been  made? 
We  miss  that  dear  familiar  face  at  every  turn,  and  listen  for  that  familiar  voice 
now  silent  in  death.  *  *  *  Will  you  remember  me  in  your  prayers  ?  »  »  * 
Come  to  us  soon.  We  all  long  to  see  you,  and  all  join  me  in  sending  much  love 
to  you.  Yours  most  affectionately,  Susan  Parrish. 

I  had  a  select  private  school  at  Mr.  John  A.  Gano's  house.  I  had 
Mr,  Gano's  two  children,  John  and  Mary;  Col.  Ware's  three,  Thomp- 
son, Sallie  and  Lucy,  and  little  Mary  Innis,  a  sweet,  curly-headed 
little  thing.  These  six  were  my  especial  charge,  but  others  were 
added  to  the  number,  and  I  had  a  pleasant  litde  republic  to  rule  over, 
and  we  were  very  happy.  Mr.  Gano  was  one  of  Kentucky's  great 
Evangelists,  a  successful  proclp,imer  of  the  gospel,  a  popular  preacher, 
and  loved  by  all  who  knew  him.  With  a  tall,  fine  physique,  a  rich,  full- 
toned  musical  voice,  warm,  eloquent  and  persuasive  in  his  preaching, 


PLANTATION  LIFE  IN  THE  SOUTH.  321 

earnest  in  exhortation,  he  was  an  honored  instrument  in  bringing  many 
to  Christ.  I  considered  myself  highly  privileged  to  be  one  of  his 
family  for  a  time,  and  to  be  able  to  hear  his  preaching  every  Lord's 
day,  and  to  enjoy  the  ordinances  of  the  Lord's  house.  Time  passed 
pleasantly;  but  the  winter  was  bitterly  cold,  the  mercury  21°  below 
zero.  I  was  nearly  frozen.  When  going  to  church  one  day  I  had  a 
strange  feeling  in  my  head.  I  could  not  sit  in  church,  I  felt  so  uncomfort- 
able. I  did  not  say  much  about  being  sick,  but  in  about  twenty-four 
hours  I  was  at  the  point  of  death,  with  erysipelas  in  the  face  and  head. 
Dr.  R.  M.  Gano  was  unremitting  in  his  attentions;  he  nursed  me  as 
well  as  doctored  me  for  eight  or  nine  days  and  nights.  He  cut  off  my 
luxuriant  crop  of  hair.     His  wife  and  mother  standing  by,  said: 

"Oh,  don't  cut  it  off";  she  will  be  so  sorry  when  she  gets  well." 

I  heard  them,  and  said:  ''Cut  it  off,  doctor,  if  it  be  necessary." 
And  off  it  came. 

Dr.  Gano  was  a  skillful  physician  and  a  Christian  gentleman,  full  oi 
life  and  spirit.  He  was  afterward  a  distinguished  general  in  the  army, 
and  after  fighting  many  battles  and  suffering  much,  he  distinguished 
himself  as  a  preacher  of  the  gospel  of  peace,  and  coped  with  his  dis- 
tinguished father  in  bringing  souls  to  Christ. 

I  recovered  from  my  illness  in  a  short  time,  finished  my  school  ses- 
sion, and  had  a  highly  satisfactory  examination.  I  closed  school  in 
June,  1857,  for  the  holidays.  I  reopened  school  in  the  same  family, 
in  the  same  school-room,  in  the  fall  of  1877,  ^^ter  a  twenty  years' 
vacation.     I  had  for  my  pupils  the  children  of  my  former  pupils. 

21 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

PREPARING   TO   LEAVE    AMERICA. 

At  this  time  my  sister  wrote  a  very  pleading  letter  for  me  to  go  to 
her,  and  help  her  to  raise  her  children  in  the  right  way.  She  said  she 
would  send  me  money  to  pay  my  expenses  to  Australia.  This  was 
enough;  I  thought  her  heart  must  be  changed  for  the  better,  to  have 
her  open  it  so  as  to  send  money.  She  had  never  before  taken  the  least 
interest  in  me  or  my  affairs.  She  was  a  completely  selfish  woman. 
When  she  was  sick,  she  wrote  for  me  to  go  to  her  children,  but  thought 
not  of  the  sacrifice  I  would  have  to  make  to  go.  But  now  her  offer  to 
send  me  money  showed  a  change  in  her  feelings.  I  was  willing  to 
make  any  sacrifice  for  her  if  I  could  do  her  any  good,  and  if  she  had 
a  sincere  desire  for  my  help  to  train  and  educate  her  children  in  the 
right  way.  I  wrote  to  her,  to  say  I  would  go  to  her  as  soon  as  I  was 
able.  I  said  I  was  pleased  at  her  profiering  me  money  to  take  me  to 
Australia,  but  I  did  not  need  it.  I  had  laid  the  case  before  the  Lord 
night  and  day,  and  yet  could  not  decide  what  was  my  duty;  but  it 
seemed  to  me  that  the  heart  of  one  who  had  ever  shut  me  out  was 
opening,  and  I  wished  to  enter  in.  I  decided  to  go  to  my  own,  and 
give  them  of  the  Word  of  Life  as  freely  as  I  had  received  it  whilst  in 
America.  I  thought  I  could  teach  and  train  my  sister's  children,  then 
bring  in  others,  and  so  extend  my  mission,  and,  perhaps,  found  an 
orphan  school.  I  asked  the  Lord  again  and  again  to  lead  me  in  the 
right  way,  to  direct  my  thoughts  aright,  that  I  might  plan  aright,  and 
•carry  out  my  plans  aright,  in  the  fear  and  love  of  my  heavenly  Father. 
I  had  no  hesitancy,  n»w  that  my  path  of  duty  seemed  clear  before  me, 
and  I  was  willing  to  walk  in  it.  But  oh,  what  was  I  about  to  sacrifice? 
The  friends  that  I  loved  as  life  itself;  the  church  privileges  and  Chris- 
tian teaching  that  I  loved  better  than  life ;  the  homes  that  had  sheltered 
and  protected  the  stranger,  whose  lot  had  been  cast  amongst  them; 
friends  who  had  loved  her  in  sickness  and  health.  To  them  my  whole 
heart  went  out  in  gratitude;  they  had  ministered  to  my  spiritual  wants, 
as  well  as  my  temporal  wants.  I  asked  God:  "And  must  I  leave  them 
all?"  and  duty  answered,  "All."  "Freely  you  have  received,  freely 
;^ive."    All  my  Christian  privileges  and  Christian  friendships  I  laid  on 

(322) 


PREPARING  TO  LEAVE  AMERICA.  323 

the  altar  of  duty,  and  no  one  but  God  can  ever  know  how  great  was 
the  sacrifice. 

Dr.  R.  M.  Gano  accompanied  me  to  Georgetown  College  commence- 
ment, and  President  CampbelPs  levee.  I  dined  that  day  at  Dr.  Ew- 
ing's  (brother-in-law  to  Mr.  John  Gano),  where  I  met  Judge  Edmund's, 
Secretary  of  the  American  Bible  Union,  to  whom  I  had  been  sending 
money  from  time  to  time  to  make  life  directors.  When  I  was  intro- 
duced to  him,  he  asked  if  I  were  his  unknown  correspondent.  I  said 
I  was,  and  what  a  shaking  of  my  hand  followed.  He  had  often  wished 
to  find  out  who  E.  Davies  was,  and  as  my  letters  to  him,  with  money 
in  them,  required  no  answer,  and  went  from  different  places  (my  last 
money  letter  was  from  Mr.  Gano's,  to  make  him  a  life  director),  he 
never  could  answer  them.  Now  that  he  had  discovered  his  unknown 
correspondent,  he  had  much  to  say  to  her.  He  was  a  pleasant,  be- 
nevolent, genial  gentleman,  perfectly  enthusiastic  in  his  work  in  the 
great  revision  movement  I  told  him  that  I  expected  to  go  to  Austra- 
lia.    At  once  he  said : 

"If  you  go  there,  the  American  Bible  Union  will  appoint  you  to  in- 
troduce the  new  version  of  the  Testament  into  those  far  off  lands,  if 
you  will  consent  to  do  so." 

I  could  not  answer  him  at  that  time,  but  said,  as  I  purposed  spending 
a  few  weeks  at  Louisville,  we  should  meet  again.  From  that  time  we 
were  in  correspondence.  I  parted  from  Mr.  Gano's  family  with  many 
tears  andjegrets. 

I  went  with  Mrs.  Keene  and  several  ladies  and  gentlemen  to  the 
Mammoth  Cave.  This  cave  being  one  of  the  wonders  of  the  world, 
I  could  not  leave  America  without  seeing  it.  Space  will  not  allow  me 
to  describe  the  wonders  of  this  great  cavern.  The  guides  seem  to  love 
the  cave;  they  live  more  than  half  their  time  in  it;  they  know  every 
crook  and  corner  in  it.  Nor  is  this  ample  mother  of  caves  unworthy 
of  their  love.  Great,  impenetrable,  awfully  grand,  gloomy  and  \)vo- 
found,  with  no  common  mystery.  "She  lies  pathetic,  ine.xplicablc  and 
in.scrutable,  because  there  is  no  interpreter.  Her  vast  avenues  end  in 
untrodden  chambers.  There  are  gulfs  that  have  never  been  crossed, 
abysses  unsounded.  Rivers,  like  human  lives,  rise  in  mystery,  and 
flow  into  mystery  again.  No  light  but  the  traveler's  lamp  ever  pene- 
trates to  its  deep,  dark  chambers.  No  sound  is  heard  but  the  cricket's 
low  cry,  or  the  lapsing  water,  as  it  flows  slowly  by,  or  a  splash,  as  the 
white,  eyeless  fish  whip  the  water  with  their  sensitive  fins,  and  send  a 
faint  ripple  against  the  shore  of  the  river."    I  had  walked  a  great  many 


324  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE, 

more  miles  than  the  twenty  to  and  from  the  maelstrom;  but  I  was  per- 
fectly buoyant.  I  felt  no  fatigue;  I  could  have  walked  as  far  again. 
We  gave  up  our  lamps  to  the  guides,  wrapped  our  cloaks  around  us, 
and  emerged  from  the  profound  gloom  and  sile'tice  of  this  wonder  of 
the  nether  region  to  light  and  life.  We  had  not  gone  far,  when  I  felt 
as  if  I  had  struck  myself  against  a  wall  of  fire.  I  started  back,  and 
exclaimed:   "What  is  that?" 

The  light,  cool  air  of  the  cave  surrounded  us  thus  far,  but  the  hot, 
heavy  atmosphere  of  the  upper  world  stood  like  a  wall,  and  we  had 
to  press  into  it.  Next  day  the  stage-coach  came  to  the  hotel  for  those 
who  wished  to  leave.  I  took  advantage  of  this  opportunity,  as  I  had 
my  preparations  to  make  for  my  long  voyage.  I  arrived  at  Louisville, 
after  a  seventeen  hours'  ride  on  the  cars  and  stage-coach. 

I  went  to  Dr.  Bell's,  to  stay  till  my  friends  returned  from  the  cave. 
I  told  the  doctor  of  my  decision  to  go  to  Australia.  This  seemed  to 
give  him  trouble.     He  walked  up  and  down  the  room,  and  said : 

"You  must  not  leave  this  country,  where  you  are  known  and  loved 
by  every  one.  Stay  with  us;  we  all  care  for  you.  Do  not  leave  a 
certainty  for  an  uncertainty.  You  have  friends  and  privileges  that  you 
love  in  this  country,  that  you  can  not  have  where  you  are  going.  Stay 
with  us." 

Mrs.  Bell,  in  her  gentle  persuasive  manner,  joined  her  husband  in 
saying,  "Do  stay  with  us." 

Now  had  I  not  believed  in  ray  heart  that  duty  called  me  hence,  the 
strong  and  earnest  appeals,  and  the  reasons  given  by  the  doctor,  and 
the  heart-touching  words  of  his  wife,  would  surely  have  had  an  effect 
upon  me.  As  it  was,  I  had  to  walk  in  the  path  of  duty  at  whatever 
cost.  But  oh,  it  was  very  hard  to  go.  I  asked  God  to  help  and 
strengthen  me.  Judge  Edmunds  was  perfectly  enthusiastic  about  my 
going,  I  having  consented  to  introduce  the  new  version  of  the  New 
Testament  to  the  churches  and  the  people  of  the  colonies.  Mrs.  Keene 
said  I  had  no  business  to  leave  this  country,  where  I  had  so  many 
friends,  and  she  almost  felt  angry  at  my  going.  Another  friend  said 
he  knew  I  would  not  like  New  South  Wales,  and  I  could  not  take  that 
long  voyage  alone;  he  would  go  with  me  and  bring  me  back.  I  stood 
aghast  at  this  proposition,  and  said  to  him : 

"Are  you  mad,  Mr.  ?     I  tell  you  before  I  go,  that  I  do  not 

like  New  South  Wales,  but  your  proposition  is  entirely  out  of  the  ques- 
tion.    You  can  not  go  with  me,  although  love  for  that  country  does 


PREPARING  TO  LEAVE  AMERICA.  325 

not  draw  me  to  it.  There  are  human  beings  there  who  need  what  I 
can  give,  and  they  are  asking  for  it." 

"Is  there  anything  under  heaven  that  I  can  do  to  prevent  you  from 
going?"  said  my  friend. 

"Nothing,"  I  said;  "my  course  is  marked  out,  and  nothing  but 
some  providential  circumstances  can  hinder  my  going.  If  God  in  any 
way  stops  my  passage,  I  shall  not  force  my  way.  I  am  in  his  hands; 
he  will  do  what  is  right." 

My  friends  everywhere  were  opposed  to  my  leaving;  they  had  no 
sympathy  in  my  mission. 

"You  ought  to  stay  where  you  are,"  they  said. 

Some  of  my  gentlemen  friends  serenaded  me  one  night.  The  airs 
of  my  native  land  were  sung  and  played  to  perfection,  and  they 
sounded  very  sweet.  September  was  a  busy  time  with  me.  I  had  a 
four  months'  voyage  before  me  in  a  sailing  vessel,  in  which  I  could 
have  no  washing  done ;  so  I  had  rnany  garments  to  prepare.  My  lady 
■friends  around  Midway  set  to  work,  and  cut  and  made  up  bolts  of 
cotton.  Letters,  testimonials  and  souvenirs  were  given  to  me,  all  of 
which  I  prized  very  highly  for  the  good  feeling  they  expressed.  I 
shall  copy  one  or  two  of  the  letters: 

Midway,  Woodford  Co.,  Kv.,  September  3,  1857. 
At   a   meeting   of  the    Board   of  Trustees   of  the    Kentucky  Female   Orphan 
School,  it  was  resolved  unanimously  that  a  letter  of  commendation  be  awarded 
to  Sister  Eliza  Davies  as  teacher  and  assistant  matron  of  this  Institution,  and 
that  Dr.  L.  L.  Pinkerton  be  requested  to  prepare  such  letter. 

Richard  Parrish,  Clerk  of  Board  Trustees. 

In  obedience  to  the  above  resolution,  it  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  state,  that 
for  the  space  of  three  years  Sister  Eliza  Davies  occupied  the  position  of 'teacher 
and  assistant  matron  in  the  Kentucky  Female  Orphan  School,  and  that  the  varied 
and  weighty  duties  were  met  and  discharged  with  great  fidelity.  She  left  the 
Institution  for  a  more  desirable  position,  and  carried  with  her  the  respect  and 
best  wishes  of  her  associates  in  the  Faculty,  and  of  the  Board  of  Trustees, 

L.  L.  Pi.NKERTON,  Pastor  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  Midway,  Ky. 

Sister  Davies,  having  lived  in  a  number  of  families  in  the  United  States,  prin- 
cipally in  the  capacity  of  instructress,  has,  by  her  intelligence,  piety  and  purity 
of  manners,  won  the  esteem  and  affection  of  a  large  number  of  acquaintances, 
who  part  with  her  with  sincere  regret.  The  families  of  A.  Campbell,  President 
of  Bethany  College,  of  the  Kentucky  Female  Orphan  School,  of  Jas.  Ware  Parrish, 
founder  of  the  above  school,  of  Gen.  Wallace  Keene,  of  Louisiana,  and  of  Elder 
John  A.  Gano,  of  Bourbon  County,  Ky.,  will  long  remember  her  with  affection, 


326  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

and  she  will  bear  with  her  to  the  distant  land  of  Australia  the  prayers  and  good 
wishes  of  the  above,  and  many  other  friends  in  Virginia  and  Kentucky,  among 
whom  she  has  principally  resided  while  in  this  country. 

John  D.  Dawson,  Principal  of  Kentucky  Female  Orphan  School. 

Centreville,  Bourbon  Co.,  U.  S.  A.,  September  14,  1847. 
To  any  to  whom  these  may  be  presented: 

This  voluntary  testimonial  is  given  our  excellent  and  highly  prized  Sister  Eliza 
Davics,  who,  after  a  residence  in  this  State  of  near  six  years,  and  in  my  imme- 
diate family  of  near  twelve  months,  under  a  high  sense  of  duty  is  about  to  leave 
the  theater  of  her  great  usefulness  here,  vi^here  she  has  in  a  great  measure  contrib- 
uted to  the  improvement  and  happiness  of  so  many,  to  reside  in  a  far-distant 
land,  that  she  may  still  be  instrumental  in  the  hands  of  God  of  doing  good,  and 
especially  of  promoting  the  happiness  of  those  who  are  near  and  dear  to  her 
heart.  Her  residence  among  us  has  greatly  endeared  her  to  us;  her  intelligence, 
modesty,  amiability  and  piety  eminently  fit  her  for  usefulness  in  any  circle  of 
society.  Her  residence  in  my  family  has  been  most  peaceful,  useful  and  happy, 
and  our  great  regret  is,  that  we  can  not  prevail  on  her  to  remain  longer  with 
us;  to  make  our  house  her  home.  She  is  blessed  of  heaven  with  gifts  which  in 
addition  to  her  acquired  knowledge  peculiarly  fit  her  for  the  instruction  of  the 
young,  their  guidance  and  management,  and  such  committed  to  her  care  are 
safe.  May  the  choicest  of  heaven's  blessings  be  hers,  and  may  her  future  path- 
way of  life  be  pleasant  and  bright.  Respectfully,  John  A.  Gano. 

I  was  very  sorry  to  part  from  my  youthful  charge.  We  all  loved 
each  other  very  much.  As  I  came  down  the  porch  steps,  John  Gano, 
my  pupil,  followed  me,  gave  me  his  knife,  his  precious  boy's  knife, 
his  only  possession,  and  asked  me  to  keep  it  to  remember  him  by;  he 
had  nothing  else  of  his  own  to  give  me,  and  he  wished  me  never  to 
forget  him.  I  put  my  arms  round  the  dear  boy  and  told  him  to  keep 
his  only  possession,  that  I  could  never  forget  him.  He  felt  hurt  at 
my  refusing  to  accept  it;  he  thought  I  did  not  think  it  worth  accept- 
ance. He  was  mistaken.  I  took  his  knife  and  kept  it  for  his  sake. 
Twenty  years  afterward  I  showed  this  same  knife  to  Captain  John 
Gano,  and  asked  him  if  he  remembered  it.  He  had  been  aid-de-ca?np 
to  his  brother,  the  General,  in  the  war,  and  had  since  married  the 
sweet,  curly-headed  little  Mary  Innis,  and  had  a  little  family.  At 
Mrs.  Smith's,  at  Midway,  I  had  a  little  room  appropriated  to  my  use, 
called  the  "Dove's  nest,"  and  ere  I  left  it  for  the  last  time,  I  knelt 
down  by  my  bed  and  committed  myself  and  friends  to  a  kind,  heaven- 
ly Father's  care,  and  asked  God  to  bless  all  who  had  been  kind  to  me 
while  I  was  among  them  a  sojourner. 

I  went  to  Louisville  to  spend  the  last  day  in  Kentucky  with  Mrs. 
Keene.     Judge  Edmunds  was  very  kind  to  me;  he  took  all  the  trouble 


PREPARING  TO  LEAVE  AMEr.I 


327 


of  expressing  my  heavy  baggage  to  New  York,  and  getting  my  paper 
money  changed  for  gold,  and  doing  everything  for  me  and  saving  me 
all  the  trouble  possible.  Farewells  were  spoken.  Judge  E ac- 
companied me  across  tlie  Ohio  to  where  the  cars  took  me  from  Jeffer- 
sonville.  The  stage-coach  crossed  the  river  on  a  boat  in  those  days. 
I  changed  cars  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  and  stopped  at  a  miserable 
place  for  two  hours  till  the  St.  Louis  train  would  come.  At  last,  a 
whistle!  I  started  to  my  feet  glad  to  get  away  from  that  place.  I  was 
stepping  into  the  train,  when  a  gentieman  touched  me  on  the  shoulder, 
and  said: 

"You  are  taking  the  wrong  train." 

I  had  just  time  to  get  off  that,  and  on  to  the  right  one,  when  off  we 
started  and  reached  Wheeling  that  evening.  I  took  the  stage  from 
Wheeling  to  Bethany.  Oh,  what  a  thrill  passed  tlirough  me  as  I 
passed  the  college,  drove  across  the  bridge,  up  the  lane,  to  Bethany 
house.  What  memories  crowded  my  mind.  My  emotions  overcame 
me  so  that  when  I  saw  my  revered  friend  I  could  not  speak  to  him  for 
some  time.  I  was  shown  into  the  dear  old  parlor  of  hallowed  mem- 
ory. On  the  wall  hung  the  portraits  of  Miss  Clarinda's  sainted  sisters, 
and  hers  was  added,  the  last  of  that  bright  band.  I  was  startled  to  see 
Miss  Clarinda's  (Mrs.  Pendleton's)  likeness;  I  had  never  seen  it  when 
she  was  alive.  They  are  now  an  unbroken  band  in  heaven.  Mr. 
Campbell  came  in  and  found  me  weeping.  Tears  were  in  the  strong 
man's  eyes  when  he  said: 

"Sister  Davies,  I  appreciate  your  feelings,  I  know  how  you  loved 
her." 

Professor  Pendleton  had  taken  to  his  home  another  lady,  bright  and 
beautiful  as  the  morning,  for  his  wife.  A.  Campbell,  Jr.,  had  married 
soon  after  I  left  Bethany  a  very  superior  young  lady,  and  their  little 
daughter,  Virginia,  and  myself  formed  quite  a  friendship.  Miss  Vir- 
ginia Campbell  was  still  unmarried.  My  little  friend  Dessie  had 
grown  to  be  a  beautiful,  perfectly  formed  young  lady.  It  was  a  sweet 
picture  to  see  these  two  sisters  with  arms  entwined  around  each  other 
walking  among  their  flowers,  themselves  the  most  lovely. 

On  Lord's  day  Mr.  Campbell  preached  from  the  twentieth  chapter 
of  the  Apocalypse,  one  of  his  own  great  sermons.  He  caused  his 
hearers  to  ask  themselves  the  question,  What  is  my  mission  here  ? 
Have  I  fulfilled  it?  am  I  fulfilling  it?  It  was  heart-searching  and 
elocjuent.  Much  he  said  reminded  me  of  the  first  sermon  I  had  heard 
him  preach  in  Scotland.     Many  things  he  said  that  I  wished  to  treas- 


328  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

ure  in  my  mind,  as  I  thought  the  probabiHty  was  I  should  never  hear 
him  again.  He  repeated  in  his  sermon  what  he  had  once  said  to 
me  in  Kentucky:  "Attempt  great  things,  expect  great  things,  and 
great  things  will  follow."  He  said  the  "Bible  is  the  only  book  that 
spans  the  arch  of  time,  and,  therefore,  most  worthy  to  be  studied. 
God  is  the  only  being  who  spans  the  arch  of  eternity,  and,  therefore, 
most  worthy  to  be  adored  in  our  hearts." 

I  visited  the  graveyard,  most  sacred  and  hallowed  spot.  Oh,  how 
sacred  to  the  memory  are  the  reminiscences  of  the  dear  old  place !  I 
knelt  by  the  grave  of  my  once  dearest  earthly  friend.  The  bright, 
the  beautiful,  the  holy  spirit  of  Clarinda  has  passed  away  to  the  realms 
of  the  blest,  but  her  ashes  lie  in  the  little  graveyard  on  Mount  Clarin- 
da. I  prayed  to  God  that  a  part  of  her  mantle  might  fall  on  me,  that 
I  might  become  more  like  her.  I  invoked  her  pure  spirit  to  be  near 
me  at  times  if  permitted;  to  influence  me  to  follow  her  as  she  followed 
her  Lord  in  the  onward  and  upward  path.  I  spent  one  quiet  and 
peaceful  hour  in  communion  with  the  departed.  Many  are  the  names 
added  to  this  last  class  since  I  visited  the  hallowed  spot.  I  stood  by 
the  graves  of  my  "wee  pet  lamb"  and  his  young  mother.  Oh,  how 
important  it  is  to  so  live,  that  we  may  meet  again  the  blessed  who  have 
gone  before. 

I  left  dear  Bethany  amid  the  tears  and  prayers  of  my  Bethany 
friends.  Many  were  the  blessings  my  venerated  friend  Mr.  Campbell 
asked  God  for  me,  to  rest  and  abide  on  my  head  forever.  I  was 
greatly  cheered  and  encouraged  by  my  visit.  Mr.  Campbell  entirely 
approved  of  my  mission  and  my  motives  for  going  to  the  far-distant  land 
of  the  South.  He  blessed  me  in  my  course,  and  told  me  to  go  on 
and  God  would  surely  be  with  me.  I  prayed,  "O  my  Father  in  heav- 
en, may  I  never  lose  the  confidence  of  my  great  and  noble  friend,  my 
spiritual  benefactor.  May  I  go  forward  trusting  in  Thee  and  borne 
on  the  wings  of  the  prayers  of  those  who  petition  Thee  for  my  safety. 
May  I  devote  myself  entirely  to  Thy  work.  Help  me,  Father,  for  Thy 
Son's  sake." 

My  friend  gave  me  a  letter  of  introduction  to  brethren  where  I 
could  find  them.     I  shall  transcribe  it : 

Bethany,  W.  Va.,  September  27,  1857. 
To  all  of  our  brethren  in  Jesus  Christ  to  whom  these  presents  may  coine,  greeting : 

It  affords  me  pleasure  to  say  that  the  bearer,  Sister  Eliza  Davies,  has  spent  a 
considerable  time  in  my  family,  during  which  she  has  exhibited  to  myself  and 
many  others  a  very  exemplary  zeal,  and  much  earnestness  in  her  profession  of  the 


PREPARING- TO  LEAVE  AMERICA.  329 

Christian  faith  and  hope,  and  a  self-denying  zeal  and  energy  m  contending  for 
the  faith  and  manners  of  the  primitive  Christians.  She  is  now  leaving  the 
United  States  of  America  for  the  purpose  of  doing  service  abroad  in  the  cause  of 
our  common  Lord  and  Master.  While,  then,  we  commend  her  to  all  our  breth- 
ren in  Christ,  whithersoever  the  Lord  may  direct  her  way,  we  do  so  in  the  confi- 
dence that  she  will  never  be  a  shame  to  them  nor  they  to  her. 

Written  by  my  own  hand.  Alexander  Campbell, 

An    Elder  of  the  Christian  Church,  Bethany,  Brooke  County,  Virginia,  United 
States  of  America. 

I  met  Judge  Edmunds  at  the  depot  in  Columbus,  Ohio,  jumped  into 
the  cars,  and  rolled  on  through  Cleveland,  Erie  and  Buffalo,  then  to 
the  Falls  of  Niagara,  another  great  wonder  of  the  world  that  I  wished 
to  see  ere  I  left  America.  A  more  able,  careful  and  intelligent  cicerone 
I  could  not  have  had  than  Judge  Edmunds.  We  were  near  his  home, 
and  he  knew  every  place  around  the  falls.  I  heard  the  Niagara.  This 
ic-  an  Indian  name,  and  means  thunder  of  waters.  It  is  a  true  concep- 
tion; for  the  waters  of  the  world's  widest  lakes,  with  innumerable 
tributaries,  making  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  square 
miles  of  surface,  are  forced  to  take  the  gigantic  leap  over  this  great  fall, 
whose  vastness  has  to  be  studied  long  before  the  imagination  can  real- 
ize it.  Lake  Ontario,  which  lies  three  hundred  feet  lower  than  Lake 
Erie,  receives  this  vast  body  of  water,  and  pours  it  into  the  Atlantic 
through  the  giant  river  St.  Lawrence.  After  viewing  the  falls  from 
various  points,  we  ascended  Prospect  Tower.  This  building  is  forty- 
five  feet  high,  with  a  winding  stairway,  up  which  you  climb,  and  ob- 
tain a  view  of  unutterable  magnificence.  You  look  down  into  the  very 
caldron  itself,  where  the  emerald  waters  are  lost  in  mist  and  foam. 
The  precipice,  over  which  the  rushing  river  tumbles  its  millions  of  tons 
of  water  hourly,  is  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  feet  deep,  and  we  stood 
about  fifty  feet  above  it,  making  over  two  hundred  feet  to  look  down. 
We  turned  and  looked  up  the  rapids,  and  saw  the  beautiful  crested  bil- 
lows rolling  madly  down  at  the  rate  of  forty  miles  an  hour,  to  take 
their  plunge  into  the  dread  abyss  with  ceaseless  thunders.  We  de- 
scended, to  have  a  view  of  the  falls  from  below.  We  took  a  ferry- 
boat, and  our  brawny  boatman  pulled  us  up  toward  the  caldron.  This 
was  a  perilous  pull,  but  I  enjoyed  it.  A  full  view  of  the  panorama  of 
the  falls  was  to  be  had;  a  more  magnificent  spectacle  one  can  not 
imagine.  I  looked  around,  above,  below,  and  I  was  enchanted  and 
bewildered.  How  awful  is  the  might  of  that  God  whose  work  this  is, 
I  thought.  We  had  a  sea  captain  on  board,  and  when  the  little  cockle 
shell  of  a  boat  began  to  toss,  he  called  out : 


J30  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

"For  God's  sake,  do  not  go  nearer  to  the  falls,  or  we  will  be 
swamped." 

The  strong  arm  of  the  boatman  soon  brought  us  out  of  our  danger. 

I  had  now  seen  the  Niagara,  grand,  glorious  and  sublime,  dazzling 
in  rainbow  tints,  and,  with  his  mighty  tone,  sounding  out  an  anthem 
of  praise  everlasting  to  his  great  Creator.  What  a  contrast  to  the  deep, 
dense  darkness  of  the  Mammoth  Cave  and  its  eternal  silence. 

We  took  the  cars  again,  and  stopped  at  a  station,  where  Judge  Ed- 
munds' son  was  in  waiting  with  a  carriage,  and  we  were  driven  to  the 
home  of  my  friend ;  stayed  there  all  night,  and  in  the  morning  pro- 
ceeded on  our  journey.  We  stopped  at  Syracuse,  and  visited  the  salt 
works.  Under  the  bed  of  Oneida  Lake  there  is  a  valuable  salt  spring 
or  lake,  from  which,  from  a  depth  of  six  hundred  feet,  they  draw  salt 
water.  This  they  boil  in  large  boilers  in  a  very  large  room.  I  went 
into  a  room  where  the  fires  were  all  out,  and  the  walls,  floors,  ceilings, 
boilers,  furnaces,  and  everything  on  which  a  crystal  could  rest,  was 
incrusted  with  salt.  This  ornamentation  was  very  brilliant.  The  room 
looked  like  a  grotto  of  frosted  silver,  white  as  driven  snow. 

The  journey  was  resumed,  and  the  country  through  which  we  passed 
was  rich  in  beautiful  scenery.  The  Catskill  Mountains  looked  grand 
and  imposing  as  we  rounded  the  north  end  of  them.  We  reached 
Albany,  the  capital  of  the  State  of  New  York,  and  took  passage  on 
board  a  splendid  Hudson  River  steamer.  I  was  perfectly  charmed 
with  the  beautiful  scenery  on  this  magnificent  river.  I  sat  on  the 
guards  at  the  bow  of  the  boat,  asking  my  friend  all  manner  of  ques- 
tions about  the  places  of  historic  interest.  He  was  a  perfect  encyclo- 
pedia of  knowledge.  He  pointed  out  the  palisades,  Washington  Irving's 
home,  West  Point,  and  various  other  places  till  night  enclosed  us;  then 
the  moon  shone  forth  in  all  her  queenly  brightness.  I  took  no  note  of 
time,  I  was  so  deeply  interested  in  all  I  saw  and  heard,  till  my  escort 
told  me  I  would  take  cold  if  I  sat  out  any  longer. 

"Oh,  no,"  I  said;  "I  am  not  cold  or  tired,  but  I  am  charmed,  and 
I  may  never  see  this  grand  river  and  beautiful  scenery  again;  but  you 
can  retire,  and  leave  me  here  to  enjoy  myself;  I  am  not  afraid." 

He  left  me,  but  soon  returned  with  two  rugs;  one  he  wrapped  around 
me,  and  placed  my  chair  where  I  could  see  all  that  was  to  be  seen. 
He  then  wrapped  himself  up,  and  sat  down  beside  me;  he  would  not 
leave  me  alone.  He  told  me  that  twenty  years  before  that  night,  he 
had  charge  of  another  young  lady  going  down  this  same  river  to  New 
York,  and  what  to  him  was  a  singular  coincidence,  I  had  asked  him 


PREPARING  TO  LEAVE  AMERICA. 


331 


the  very  same  questions  about  the  very  same  places  that  she  had ;  she 
was  the  same  enthusiastic  lover  of  nature.  He  said  our  minds  were 
alike,  in  fact,  I  was  like  her  in  almost  everything.  I  asked  who  the 
lady  was.     He  said  she  was, 

"Emily  Chubbuck,  better  knowm  by  her  literary  7wm  de  plume, 
'Fanny  Forester.'  " 

"Do  you  think  I  am  like  her  in  anything?"  I  exclaimed. 

"Yes,  I  do,  in  a  great  many  things." 

I  was  highly  complimented,  but  in  my  heart  I  felt  at  the  time  that 
Fanny  Forester  was  my  superior  in  almost  everything  but  devotion  to 
our  commo  Lord;  in  this  alone  I  would  not  give  her  the  palm.  I  lifted 
up  a  prayer  to  the  ear  of  my  Father,  to  enable  me  to  emulate  the  Chris- 
tian graces  of  this  lovely  character,  that  I  might  be  able  to  deserve  the 
exalted  opinion  that  my  friend  had  formed  of  me. 

We  landed  at  New  York,  and  were  driven  to  the  elegant  mansion 
of  Eli  Kelly,  Esq.  He  was  a  wealthy  Baptist  brother,  and  a  cousin  of 
Judge  Edmunds.  Mrs.  Kelly  was  an  elegant  lady,  and  a  noble  Chris- 
tian; she  also  was  a  member  of  the  Baptist  Church.  My  lot  at  New 
York  was  cast  among  the  Baptists.  I  had  a  most  cordial  welcome  from 
this  family;  their  home  and  hearts  were  open  to  receive  me,  thanks 
to  Mrs.  and  Miss  Edmunds,  who  had  preceded  the  judge  two  weeks, 
and  had  told  their  friends  he  was  going  to  bring  me  so  far  on  my  long 
journey.  I  attended  the  annual  convention  of  the  American  Bible 
Union.  May  it  be  faithful  to  truth,  and  so  prosper  in  the  grand  work 
of  revision,  was  my  prayer.  Great  numbers  of  our  brethren  from  every 
State  were  in  attendance,  many  of  whom  I  knew,  and  with  whom  I 
took  the  parting  hand.  I  was  introduced  to  the  President  Dr.  Arniitage, 
and  to  all  the  officers  of  the  American  Bible  Union.  Mr.  Buckbee,  a 
Baptist  minister,  was  assistant  treasurer,  and  was  anxious  to  forward 
the  interests  of  the  society.  He  was  authorized  to  pack  up  a  case  of 
specimens  of  the  new  version  of  the  New  Testament,  with  reports  and 
documents  of  various  kinds,  for  me.  I  had  another  case  of  all  of  Mr. 
Campbell's  works,  and  all  the  works  of  our  brethren.  I  wished  to  in- 
troduce them  to  the  colonists  as  something  strange,  and  new,  and  beau- 
tiful. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Edmunds  took  me  to  the  Crystal  Palace  and 
several  other  places  of  interest,  while  they  remained  in  the  city.  The 
judge  and  myself  went  to  look  for  a  ship  in  which  to  take  a  jjassarje 
There  was  a  fine  new  ship  going  direct  to  Sydney,  my  destination. 

"This  is  just  the  ship  for  me,"  I  said. 

"Not  so,"  said  the  judge. 


332  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

"Why  not?"  I  asked  in  some  surprise.  "This  ship  is  going  to  the 
very  port  I  am  going  to;  the  other  ship  goes  to  another  port,  from 
which  I  would  have  to  reship  at  considerable  expense." 

"Be  it  so,"  said  the  judge  in  a  decided  tone.  "This  ship  carries  no 
stewardess,  and  no  lady  passengers,  and  I  can  not  send  you  out  to  sea 
on  a  four  months'  voyage  with  none  but  men  for  your  companions." 

I  laughed,  and  said,  "Be  it  so;  though  I  am  not  afraid  of  gentlemen." 

"I  am  a  better  judge  of  gentlemen  than  you  are,"  said  my  friend. 

So  we  went  on  board  of  the  Sebastian  Cabot,  2500  tons,  a  perfect  cas- 
tle of  a  ship.  It  was  owned  by  Mr.  Watts,  who  also  commanded  her, 
and  was  chartered  by  Mailord,  Lord  &  Co.,  and  consigned  to  Mr. 
Lord  at  Melbourne.  Mrs.  Watts,  who  lived  with  her  husband  on 
board,  and  had  always  sailed  with  him  on  his  European  voyages,  was 
now  for  the  first  time  going  to  stay  at  home,  that  her  children  might 
go  to  school.  We  became  quite  well  acquainted  in  a  short  time.  My 
passage  was  taken  in  this  ship.  Mrs.  Watts  kindly  had  the  large  cabin, 
which  her  three  children  occupied,  fitted  up  for  me.  Her  little  parlor, 
separated  from  the  saloon  by  a  bulkhead,  was  especially  for  my  use. 
Every  arrangement  was  made  on  board  for  my  comfort.  I  had  nothing 
to  do  but  get  my  baggage  on  board  and  sail  away.  An  unforeseen  hin- 
derance  occurred.  The  judge  had  put  my  gold  in  the  bank  in  Kentucky, 
and  when  he  went  to  draw  it  at  New  York,  the  bank  had  suspended 
the  day  before.  He  telegraphed  for  a  draft  on  another  bank,  but  ere 
it  came,  that  had  closed  its  doors,  and  so  a  third.  A  money  panic  was 
in  full  play;  but  my  passage  must  be  paid,  as  the  ship  would  sail  soon, 
or  I  must  give  up  going  with  her.      I  was  asked  what  I  would  do. 

'  'If  God  so  orders  that  I  shal^  not  go,  and  places  this  hinderance  in 
my  way,  I  shall  not  force  myself  away;  I  shall  remain  in  America. 
If  he  removes  the  hinderance  I  shall  go.  I  wish  only  to  do  his  will," 
I  said. 

I  was  told  my  money  was  safe,  only  I  could  not  get  it  at  that  time. 
Mr.  Buckbee  and  the  judge  took  charge  of  it,  and  advanced  as 
much  as  would  pay  my  way  handsomely  to  my  destination.  This  and 
all  other  matters  arranged,  the  judge,  and  his  wife  and  daughter, 
left  New  York  for  their  temporary  home  in  Kentucky.  I  was  sin- 
cerely sorry  to  part  with  these  dear  friends.  They  left  me  in  good 
hands.  Mrs.  Kelly  drove  me  out  every  day,  and  took  me  to  all  the 
benevolent  institutions,  picture  galleries,  and  all  places  of  interest  that 
could  be  thought  of.  She  assisted  me  in  my  purchases.  I  added  to 
my  wardrobe  considerably,  and  to  my  own  library.     I  bought  a  sew- 


PREPARING  TO  LEAVE  AMERICA. 


333 


ing  machine — a  new  thing  in  those  days.  Having  spent  three  dehghtful 
weeks  at  the  elegant  house  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kelly,  whose  exceeding 
great  kindness  I  shall  never  forget,  she  drove  me  to  the  ship  that  was 
to  carry  me  far,  far  away  from  friends  and  scenes  I  loved  so  well.  I 
went  on  board  on  the  24th  of  October,  1857.  Mrs.  Watts  was  on 
board,  and  took  me  to  the  comfortably  fitted-up  room  she  had  prepared 
for  me.  All  my  great  cases  and  trunks  were  stowed  away  conveniendy 
and  securely.  I  heard  Mr.  Buckbee  give  the  captain  strict  charges 
concerning  me,  and  bespeak  his  kind  offices  for  me.  I  was  precious 
freight,  and  was  to  be  delivered  safe  into  the  hands  of  Mr.  Lord,  to 
whom  the  ship  was  chartered,  and  to  whom  I  had  letters  of  introduc- 
tion, and  who  was  nearly  related  to  Mr.  Buckbee.  I  was  amused  at 
being  consigned  to  Mr.  Lord  as  "precious  freight."  Mr.  Buckbee  was 
the  last  of  my  American  friends  to  bid  me  farewell. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

SECOND   VOYAGE  TO   NEW  SOUTH  WALES. 

"Though  oft  I  seem  to  tread  alone 
Life's  dreary  waste  with  thorns  o'ergrown, 
Thy  voice  of  love  in  gentlest  tone 
Still  whispers,  'Cling  to  me  alone.'" 

I  FELT  that  I  had  none  to  cling  to  but  my  Savior,  my  friend  unseen. 
I  thought  trials  might  await  me,  and  sufferings  too,  but  if  I  moved  on 
in  the  path  of  duty  at  his  command,  he  would  be  with  me,  and  all 
would  be  well.  We  were  several  days  ere  we  got  out  to  sea.  We 
had  quite  a  scene  on  board  one  day.  A  poor  woman  came  on  "board 
looking  for  her  husband.  She  found  him  stowed  away  very  snugly. 
Ske  begged  him  to  come  back  to  his  family,  but  this  he  would  not  do. 
She  begged  him  for  money  to  buy  them  bread,  this  he  would  not  give. 
She  wept  bitterly,  but  he  would  not  relent,  his  heart  was  stony.  The 
mate,  to  end  the  scene,  said  to  the  poor  woman,  if  she  would  go  and 
get  a  warrant  for  him  he  would  deliver  her  husband  to  her.  The 
woman  left,  but  did  not  come  back  again. 

I  had  time  to  study  my  fellow-passengers ;  I  had  nothing  else  to  do 
at  the  time.  A  woman  sat  opposite  to  me  at  dinner,  with  large,  roll- 
ing, restless  eyes,  looking  everywhere  and  at  everything.  She  had  a 
boy  by  her  side  about  six  years  old.  Next  to  her  sat  a  huge  Irish 
woman,  old  and  unwieldy;  next  to  me  sat  a  meek-eyed  gentlewoman, 
with  her  husband  by  her  side,  a  quiet-looking  man.  I  was  not  charmed 
with  the  prospect  of  a  long  voyage  in  such  company.  Some  detec- 
tives came  on  board  looking  for  a  man  who  was  not  in  the  ship.  The 
lady  with  restless  eyes  was  closely  questioned  about  her  husband.  She 
in  tones  unmusical  swore,  yes,  swore,  that  she  had  no  husband.  Per- 
haps, like  the  woman  at  the  well  of  Samaria,  she  told  the  truth.  The 
steamer  which  towed  us  out  of  harbor  left  us,  the  pilot  waved  a  good- 
bye, and  we  parted  on  the  bounding  billows,  when  lo!  a  little  cockle- 
shell of  a  boat  was  seen  bravely  breasting  the  waves.  We  watched 
with  interest  the  puny  efforts  of  the  litde  thing  to  overtake  our  noble 
ship   with  its  tremendous  proportions,  and  the  glorious  and  uproarious 

(334) 


SECOND  VOYAGE  TO  NEW  SOUTH  WALES.  "35 

manner  in  which  the  vast  sails  were  being  spread  out  to  catch  the 
freshening  breeze.  A  signal  was  hoisted  on  board  the  cockle-shell. 
The  thin-lipped,  shrill-voiced  woman  with  restless  eyes  called  out: 
"Captain,  stop  the  ship;  my  husband  is  on  board  that  boat." 
The  captain  turned  upon  her  a  stern  look,  and  said: 
"You  told  the  detectives  that  you  had  no  husband." 
The  woman  looked  bold  and  defiant.  The  ship  hove  to;  a  rope 
was  thrown  to  the  men  in  the  boat,  one  of  which  climbed  the  side  of 
the  ship,  was  up  and  on  board  in  a  twinkling.  Then  he  turned  round 
and  threw  a  purse  of  gold  to  those  in  the  boat,  who  had  risked  their 
lives  for  gold  to  save  a  defaulter  from  the  limbs  of  the  law.  Once 
more  our  white-winged  herald  of  commerce  spread  her  sails  to  the 
favoring  breeze,  and  we  bounded  away  on  our  trackless  path.  The 
man  who  came  on  board  was  long,  lean  and  lank,  with  a  heavy  black 
beard,  a  very  pale  face,  so  much  as  could  be  seen  of  it,  a  slouched 
hat  over  his  head,  ears  and  eyes,  and  an  old  overcoat,  buttoned  to  the 
chin,  to  cover  his  shabby  clothes.  In  the  evening  the  man  was  meta- 
morphosed. He  emerged  from  his  cabin  in  an  elegant  suit  of  broad- 
cloth, without  a  beard,  and  blazing  with  diamonds,  large  and  lustrous, 
in  studs,  shirt-pin  and  rings,  about  two  yards  of  thick  gold-cable  chain, 
and  a  handsome  gold  watch,  studded  with  the  like  precious  stones.  He 
was  the  admiration  of  himself  as  he  displayed  his  finery.  The  woman 
was  similarly  bedizened  with  diamonds,  and  had  a  dirty  calico  dress 
on.  We  had  only  six  saloon  passengers,  and  sixty  in  the  second  cabin. 
I  had  mapped  out  a  programme  to  work  by  on  the  long  voyage. 
After  my  first  week,  which  I  gave  to  sea-sickness,  I  gave  some  time  to 
the  study  of  na\'igation,  some  time  to  reading,  some  time  to  sewing  or 
doing  fancy  work,  and  some  time  to  exercise.  I  wished  to  be  syste- 
matic in  the  use  of  my  time.  How  delightful  to  sit  on  a  calm,  still 
day  and  be  floated  over  the  waters,  deep  and  dark,  of  the  mighty  sea, 
and  to  be  rocked  gently  up  and  down  on  the  great  waves,  with  their 
emerald  lights  and  purple  shadows.  But  oh,  how  terrific  to  hear  the 
howling  of  the  storm,  when  the  sea,  lashed  into  fury  by  the  merciless 
winds,  tosses  the  ship  hither  and  thither,  straining  every  timber  in  her 
frame. 

As  soon  as  we  were  fairly  out  at  sea,  the  wind  freshened,  and  the 
ship  began  to  jump  and  plunge.  I  staggered  to  the  breakfast-table, 
and  had  just  seated  myself  when  I  had  to  be  half  carried  back  to  my 
cabin,  where  I  lay  deathly  sea-sick  for  six  days,  without  food  of  any 
kind.     After  recovering  sufficiently  to  take  my  first  lesson  in  naviga- 


336  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

tion  from  the  captain,  I  went  on  deck,  quadrant  in  hand,  and  took  the 
sun's  altitude.  This  was  my  first  observation  and  my  last.  I  went  to 
my  cabin  and  worked  out  the  reckoning  correctly,  which  corresponded 
exactly  with  the  captain's.  When  I  finished  my  work,  I  laid  my  slate 
and  the  epitome  of  navigation  on  the  floor  beside  me,  and  leaned  my 
head  on  the  bed,  and  there  I  sat  for  hours.  When  the  stewardess 
found  me  I  was  in  a  high  fever.  I  had  a  very  severe  attack  of  bilious 
fever.  The  captain  was  somewhat  alarmed.  He  thought  I  was  going 
to  die,  and  proposed  to  Mrs.  Terril,  the  meek-eyed  lady,  that  he  would 
give  up  his  cabin  to  me,  and  she  should  lie  on  the  sofa  beside  the  bed 
and  wait  on  me;  but  I  said  I  would  not  leave  my  room,  and  if  I  had 
to  die,  I  should  die  in  my  own  cabin.  I  lived  for  weeks  on  barley- 
water  ;  I  could  not  eat  solid  food.  One  night  my  barley-water  was 
put  on  the  parlor-table  outside  of  my  door,  within  sight,  but  out  of 
reach.  I  was  burning  up  with  fever;  I  seemed  to  have  a  fire  in  my 
blood  and  in  my  bones.  What  a  fearful  night  I  passed  in  sight  of 
that  mug  of  barley-water.  My  throat  was  parched;  my  tongue  was 
swollen  and  cleaving  to  my  mouth,  and  I  could  not  move  to  reach  the 
mug,  nor  could  I  call  for  any  one  to  reach  it  to  me.  Dives  could  not 
have  suffered  more  physically,  I  think,  than  I  did  that  night.  In  the 
morning  the  captain  looked  in  at  my  door,  and  exclaimed : 

"Gracious  king!" 

He  put  his  hand  on  my  burning  head,  and  ran  for  a  bottle  of  cam- 
phorated spirits,  and  poured  the  spirits  over  my  head.  I  thought  this 
would  finish  me,  but  it  had  a  good  effect;  I  was  then  able  to  point  to 
the  mug  of  barley-water  that  had  tantalized  me  all  night.  I  drank 
and  was  able  to  speak ;  and  from  that  time  I  began  to  mend. 

One  day  six  large  ships,  in  full  dress,  scudding  before  the  wind  at  a 
fine  rate,  hove  in  sight.  They  rode  the  waves  majestically,  and  passed 
grandly  out  of  sight.  Another  day  a  frightful  white  squall  struck  our 
ship,  and  she  would  have  gone  down  to  the  lower  depth,  stern  first, 
had  not  our  ever  vigilant  captain  been  on  deck.  His  voice  rang  loud  and 
clear  above  the  storm.  The  night  grew  dark.  All  hands  were  called 
on  deck;  all  was  uproar  and  confusion.  The  sailors  could  not  see; 
thick  darkness  brooded  o'er  the  ship;  but  when  a  fierce  flash  of  light- 
ning pierced  the  gloom  they  got  a  short  glimpse  of  their  surroundings. 
The  roaring  thunder,  and  fierce,  flashing  lightning,  and  the  angry, 
foam-crested  billows  dashing  against  the  sides  of  the  ship,  were  fright- 
ful ;  but  what  was  a  more  frightful  sound  to  me,  human  voices,  in  the 
midst  of  the  elemental  war,  belched  forth  the  most  fearful  oaths  and 


SECOND  VOYAGE  TO  NEW  SOUTH  WALES.  337 

foul  curses.     My  blood  ran  cold  to  hear  such  profanity  at  such  a  time. 

We  crossed  the  equator  on  the  28th  of  November.  Calms  and  baf- 
fling winds  prevented  our  crossing  several  days  previous.  The  captain 
and  officers  were  whistling  for  fair  winds.  The  heat  would  have  been 
intolerable  but  for  the  heavy  rains.  It  does  not  rain  in  those  latitudes; 
it  pours,  as  if  the  heavens  opened  their  flood-gates  and  emptied  their 
reservoirs.  Before  leaving  America  several  of  my  friends  told  me 
that  a  certain  hour  on  Saturday  evenings  they  would  pray  for  me,  spe- 
cial petitions,  and  I  was  to  think  of  them  at  the  same  time.  When 
Saturday  night  at  sea  came,  I  thought  of  all  those  who  were  praying 
for  me,  and  always  took  fresh  courage.  This  voyage  had  thus  far  been 
more  monotonous  than  any  previous  one.  We  were  in  the  region  or 
latitude  of  beautiful  clouds.  They  assumed,  one  evening  just  before 
sunset,  a  most  wonderful  appearance.  Away  on  the  horizon  was  a 
dusky  belt  of  sky,  looking  like  land;  above  that  towered  masses  of 
cumuli,  assuming  every  shape  and  form.  The  clouds  looked  like 
snow-capped  mountains,  dazzling  in  splendor,  with  deep,  dark  ravines, 
grand  and  gloomy  in  contrast.  On  the  sides  of  the  mountains  you 
could  see,  or  think  you  could  see,  beasts  of  every  name,  form  and 
size.  The  captain  was  charmed  with  the  splendid  sight,  and  could 
have  been  easily  persuaded  that  land  lay  in  that  direction.  Suddenly 
the  sun  sank,  and  nothing  but  heavy  banks  of  gray  clouds  hung  near 
the  horizon;  then  all  was  dark.  I  had  seen  this  cloud-picture  in  a 
former  voyage  to  Australia,  and  oh,  it  was  very  beautiful. 

Our  Lord's  days  were  very  differently  spent  on  board  of  this  ship, 
to  what  I  had  experienced  on  others.  We  had  no  public  service  on 
board,  no  recognition  of  the  day  at  all.  It  was  calculated  to  make  one 
forget  almost  when  the  day  came. 

The  Tract  Society  had  sent  a  box  of  tracts  and  books  on  board  for 
distribution.  I  gave  the  officers,  when  they  came  to  dine  at  the  second 
table,  some  of  the  tracts,  and  hsked  them  to  give  some  to  the  sailors. 
All  but  the  second  mate  thanked  me  for  giving  tlicm  something  to 
read;  he,  with  a  muttered  oath,  said  he  did  not  read  such  things.  I 
heard  fearful  screams  one  morning,  like  cries  of  one  in  great  distress. 
I  looked  out  of  my  window,  and  saw  the  mate  kick  with  fearful  vio- 
lence a  poor  boy,  I  afterward  saw  the  poor  boy  at  the  wheel,  with 
his  head  bandaged  and  his  face  all  cut,  swollen  and  discolored.  I  said 
to  the  boy,  he  had  better  tell  the  captain  of  the  bad  treatment  he  had 
received.  The  captain  just  then  came  on  deck,  and  called  me  to  him. 
I  rose,  and  went  to  him.  I  was  infringing  the  ship's  laws  by  speaking 
22 


338  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

to  the  man  at  the  wheel.  I  apologized  for  so  doing,  but  I  had  done  it 
in  ignorance.  I  should  not  do  it  again.  I  asked  if  it  were  in  accord- 
ance with  the  ship's  laws,  for  the  second  mate  to  knock  down  a  boy, 
and  kick  him  with  the  heel  of  a  heavy  boot  on  the  head  and  face  till 
both  were  like  raw  flesh  or  jelly,  and  then  to  send  that  boy  to  the 
wheel  with  one  eye  closed  and  blackened,  and  the  other  so  that  he  could 
hardly  see  anything,  and  his  body  so  bruised,  that  he  could  with  diffi- 
culty turn  the  wheel.  The  captain  colored  scarlet.  He  was  angry, 
but  he  only  said: 

"You  had  better  not  interfere  with  the  second  mate." 

I  said  I  should  not  interfere  with  his  duties,  but  in  the  cause  of  hu- 
manity I  would  speak. 

"He  will  be  revenged  on  you  if  you  do,"  said  the  captain. 

"I  have  no  fear;  I  am  under  your  protection,  and  Mr.  Livingstone 
is  your  subordinate.     What  have  I  to  fear?" 

He  bit  his  lip,  left  me  in  anger,  and  went  to  the  boy,  and  gave 
him  a  scolding  for  talking  to  the  passengers.  I  told  Mr.  Terril  of  the 
mate's  brutal  conduct,  and  told  him  that  he  must  not  be  allowed  to  be 
so  brutal  in  his  treatment  of  the  lads.  He  said  he  would  have  an  eye 
on  him.  Nero  was  at  his  work  again,  leaving  the  mark  of  his  heeled 
boot  on  a  boy's  forehead;  but  Mr.  Terril  was  soon  at  his  elbow,  pin- 
ioned his  arms  behind  him,  and  said  to  him : 

'^The  ship's  articles  do  not  require  that  you  commit  murder." 

The  captain  heard  the  uproar,  and  sent  for  his  second  in  command, 
who  came  down  in  a  fury.  The  captain,  while  talking  to  this  Nero, 
as  I  dubbed  him,  kept  his  hand  on  a  loaded  pistol  lying  on  the  table. 
He  asked  the  mate  the  cause  of  the  terrific  yells  he  heard.  The  an- 
swer was: 

"They  will  not  obey  me." 

"Why  not?"  queried  the  captain  very  quietly.  "Do  you  and  my 
other  officers  obey  me?" 

"Yes,  we  do;  because  we  know  our  duty,  and  we  do  it." 

"And  one  reason  is,  because  I  never  swear  at  you,  or  knock  you 
down,  and  kick  you  when  you  are  down,"  said  the  captain. 

"No,  sir,"  said  Nero,  "that  would  not  do  with  me." 

"Neither  will  it  do  with  the  sailors;  treat  them  as  I  treat  you,  and 
they  will  obey  you.  I  want  to  hear  no  more  of  your  cruelty."  And 
so  the  interview  ended. 

I  missed  from  the  deck  a  poor  sailor  whom  I  had  noticed,  with  hol- 
low cheeks,  an^d  sunken  eyes,  and  swollen  feet,  who,  when  pulling  a 


SECOND  VOYAGE  TO  NEW  SOUTH  WALES.  339 

rope,  would  often  stop  to  cough;  when  Nero  would  most  unfeelingly 
roar  out  oaths  at  him,  and  call  him  by  the  ugliest  of  names.  I  found, 
on  inquiry,  that  he  was  sick  in  bed  in  the  forecastle.  I  found  my  way 
to  the  dark  abode  of  the  sailors,  and  to  the  sick  man's  bedside.  I 
found  him  very  ill,  without  attention  of  any  kind.  A  kit,  with  salt 
junk  and  hard  biscuit  in  it,  was  beside  his  bed.  This  was  his  share 
of  the  dinner;  but  he  could  not  eat  it,  nor  had  he  eaten  anything  for 
some  time.  I  asked  the  poor  man  if  he  could  eat  soup;  he  thought  he 
could.  I  saved  my  soup  at  dinner  time,  and  took  it  to  him.  I  asked 
him  if  no  one  came  to  see  him.  He  said  the  second  mate  came  every 
now  and  then  to  curse  him  for  a  "lazy  dog,"  and  to  order  him  up  to 
his  work,  or  he  would  give  him  the  rope's  end.    The  poor  fellow  said : 

"I  can't  get  up." 

He  was  evidently  in  the  last  stage  of  consumption,  and  when  Nero 
could  not  get  the  poor  man  on  deck  to  work,  he  left  him  to  die  totally 
neglected.  I  went  twice  a  day  to  see  the  sick  man.  I  talkfed  to  him 
about  his  soul's  interest.  He  was  very  much  subdued,  and  wept.  I 
took  him  food,  such  as  he  could  eat,  and  some  delicacies.  He  was 
getting  weaker  every  day,  and  still  no  one  but  myself  doing  anything 
for  him.  His  mates  had  no  time  to  stay  with  him.  I  had  not  told 
any  one  of  my  expeditions  to  the  forecastle.  I  did  not  think  it  neces- 
sary to  sound  a  trumpet  before  me ;  but  as  he  got  worse,  I  asked  Mrs. 
Terril  to  go  with  me  to  see  him.  One  day  we  were  coming  out  of  the 
forecastle,  when  some  tackling  was  let  down,  and  struck  Mrs.  Terril 
on  the  head,  and  made  a  cut  which  bled  profusely.  She  was  greatly 
frightened  when  she  found  that  the  second  mate  had  lowered  the  blocks 
which  struck  her.  The  captain  came  to  me  that  night,  and  asked  me 
if  I  took  food  to  the  man  in  the  forecastle.  I  told  him  yes.  He  said 
that  I  must  not  do  it.  I  told  him  I  only  took  my  own  food  to  him, 
and  the  poor  man  enjoyed  it.  The  captain  said  he  would  send  the 
man  food  from  the  table,  and  I  need  not  carry  it. 

"Be  it  so,"  I  said. 

When  I  went  in  the  afternoon  to  read  and  talk  to  the  man,  I  found 
he  had  not  had  anything  to  eat  since  I  had  carried  some  for  him  the 
day  before.  At  tea-time  I  asked  the  steward  if  he  had  taken  to  ilij; 
sick  man  what  the  captain  had  ordered. 

"No,  I  have  not;  Mr.  Livingstone  thinks  he  can  eat  what  the  others 
eat." 

I  looked  at  the  captain,  who  ordered  some  tea  and  light  bread  to  be 
sent  forward  at  once.     Tiie  captain  conducted  me  to  my  little  parlor, 


240  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

sat  down,  and  asked  me  in  a  rather  taunting  tone,  why  it  was  I  took 
such  interest  in  a  fellow  whose  sickness  was  all  a  sham;  he  did  not 
need  my  attention,  and  why  did  I  trouble.  I  said  I  troubled,  because 
I  found  a  man  dying  on  board  his  ship,  for  whose  body  or  soul  neither 
he  nor  his  officers  cared.  Life  was  ebbing,  and  the  poor  man  was  en- 
tirely neglected— had  been  starving  till  I  took  him  nourishing  food. 
I  said  they  were  all  hard  hearted  to  let  the  poor  soul  pass  away  so  ut- 
terly neglected.  I  asked  him  how,  in  his  extremity,  he  would  like  to 
be  so  treated.     I  shall  do  all  I  can  for  him,  though  that  may  be  little. 

"Suppose,"  said  the  captain,  "I  forbid  your  going  any  more  to  the 
forecastle.     This  is  my  ship;   I  am  master." 

"You  can  hinder  my  ministering  to  the  dying  sailor,  because  you  are 
master  of  the  ship-,  but  as  you  are  not  my  master,  you  can  not  hinder  me, 
when  I  arrive  at  Melbourne,  from  reporting  to  Mr.  Lord,  to  whom  the 
ship  is  chartered,  and  the  freight  consigned,  all  the  cruelties  I  have, 
witnessed  on  board  your  ship. 

"Come,  come,"  said  the  captain,  "you  are  taking  it  too  seriously. 
What  can  I  do  to  prevent  you  going  to  the  forecastle?" 

"Death  is  no  jest,  and  the  poor  man  is  dying.  You  believe  your 
officers  that  his  sickness  is  a  sham,  and  this  is  a  shame.  You  do  not 
carry  a  doctor.  Go  to  him,  and  judge  for  yourself,  and  see  if  he  does 
not  need  medicine  to  relieve  his  suffering;  food  to  sustain  his  sinking 
body,  a  nurse  to  wait  on  him,  and  a  friend  to  help  cheer  him  in  the 
dark  valley  through  which  he  is  passing." 

The  captain  started  up,  and  said:  "I'll  go  to  him  at  once;"  and 
he  went,  and  soon  returned,  exclaiming,  "Gracious  king!  the  man  is 
worse  than  I  thought;  he  must  have  medicine.  I  have  told  one  of 
the  boys  to  stay  with  him,  and  from  this  night  I  shall  take  charge  of 
that  poor  fellow  myself.  Now  will  you  promise  me  that  you  will  not 
go  any  more  to  the  forecastle." 

"Let  me  go  once  with  you  to  take  good-bye,  and  tell  the  poor  man 
that  you  will  take  better  care  of  him  than  I  could," 

I  saw  him  once  more,  and  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  the  dying  man 
thanked  me  over  and  over  again,  and  asked  God  to  bless  me  for  what 
I  had  done  for  him.  I  left  some  tracts  for  the  boy  to  read  to  him,  and 
told  him  to  pray  to  Jesus  himself,  and  he  would  save  him  if  he  believed 
on  him,  and  so  I  left  him  in  tears.  I  felt  sorry  to  say  good-bye.  Nero 
one  day,  with  a  polite  sneer,  asked  me  if  I  thought  the  sailor  would 
4ie,     I  said  I  thought  he  was  very  ill.     I  asked  him  what  he  thought. 


SECOND  VOYAGE  TO  NEW  SOUTH  WALES.  -  ,  r 

"Oh,  I  went  to  see  him,  and  told  him  that  nothing  but  reading  the 
Bible  could  do  him  any  good  now." 

This  was  said  with  a  most  contemptuous  sneer.  I  took  no  notice  of 
the  sneer,  but  said: 

•'As  the  poor  man  is  not  able  to  read  now,  will  you  be  so  kind  as  to 
read  a  little  of  the  Bible  for  him;  it  will  do  you  both  good." 

I  looked  up  into  this  hard  man's  face.  He  looked  confused,  not 
expecting  to  be  thus  appealed  to. 

"I  have  no  time,"  he  said. 

A  few  days  after,  Mrs.  Terril  and  myself  were  on  deck.  I  asked 
the  captain  how  the  sick  man  was  ? 

"He  is  on  deck,"  said  the  captain. 

"Where?"  I  exclaimed. 

"There,  under  the  stars  and  stripes." 

"I  did  not  think  he  could  get  up  or  walk,"  I  said. 

"No,"  said  the  captain,  "he  had  to  be  carried  up;  there  he  is," 
pointing  to  the  dead  man  as  he  lay  on  deck  waiting  for  burial,  covered 
with  the  flag  of  the  United  States  for  a  pall. 

A  few  of  his  mates  lifted  him  up,  and  placed  his  feet  on  the  gang- 
way. Nero,  at  the  head  of  the  corpse,  his  own  head  uncovered,  read 
a  short  service  for  the  dead  from  a  prayer-book.  His  mien  was  sol- 
emn.    What  were  his  thoughts  when  the  bier  was  tilted?     And 

"Down  into  the  deep  he  sank  alone, 
Unknelled,  uncoffined  and  unknown.' 

A  little  thing  sometimes  creates  an  excitement.  Our  first  mate 
caught  a  great  porpoise.  The  animal  is  well  named,  "sea-hog."  It 
has  a  long  snout,  not  unlike  that  of  a  land  hog.  It  is  a  mammal.  It 
was  cooked,  and  the  liver  was  by  some  considered  quite  a  delicacy;  I 
did  not  like  it. 

A  ludicrous  scene  took  place  one  day.  We  had  been  having  fine 
weather,  but  the  breezes  were  freshening.  We  all  sat  down  to  dinner. 
The  unwieldy  Irish  woman  was  opposite  to  me,  and  the  man  and 
woman  with  diamonds  were  on  the  same  side.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Terril 
were  on  my  side,  the  captain  at  the  head,  the  first  mate  at  the  foot  of 
the  table.  Our  meals  were  always  silent,  or  nearly  so,  the  parties  not 
being  congenial.  We  were  all  waiting  in  solemn  silence  for  the  cap- 
tain to  serve  the  soup,  which  he  was  doing,  when  quite  unexpectedly 
the  ship  gave  a  tremendous  lurch  to  leeward.  The  thr^e  who  .sat 
opposite  to  me  fell  backwards,  and  all  clutched  at  the  tablc-clolh  to 


342  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

save  themselves.  They  drew  it  and  everything  on  it  after  them,  they 
did  not  know  where.  To  save  myself  from  falling  and  sliding  under 
the  table,  I  leaned  over  and  took  hold  of  a  dish  of  hash,  and  burned 
my  fingers.  What  an  uproar!  Knives,  forks,  plates,  dishes,  meat, 
soup,  hash,  vegetables,  all  flying  and  smashing  up  pell-mell,  in  the 
midst  of  which,  groans,  screams  and  oaths  could  be  heard. 

"Och,  och,  I  am  kilt  intirely,"  came  from  behind  a  pair  of  feet 
high  in  the  air,  covered  with  the  table-cloth. 

The  lady  of  the  Green  Isle  was  sitting  on  the  tilted  seat,  her  head 
bent,  and  her  heels  high  up,  without  the  power  to  move  her  unwieldy 
bulk.  I  laughed  outright,  though  my  fingers  were  severely  scalded, 
my  dress  destroyed  and  my  dinner  lost.  The  old  lady  was  extricated 
from  her  dangerous  position,  with  many  an  *'och,  och."  Her  great 
weight,  when  the  vessel  careened,  drew  the  long  screws  which  fastened 
the  seat  out  of  the  floor.  The  captain  was  mad  as  a  hornet,  but  it 
was  of  no  use;  we  escaped  very  well. 

When  we  got  into  thq  trade  winds,  our  ship  dashed  on  with  the 
furious  speed  of  a  war-horse;  not  content  to  ride  the  waves,  she 
seemed  to  jump  over  them.  We  could  not  sit  at  the  table;  everything 
was  pitched  thither  and  hither.  I  sat  on  the  floor  of  my  little  parlor, 
held  on  to  the  leg  of  the  table,  and  drank  my  soup,  or  my  hash,  or 
Irish  stew,  out  of  a  mug,  and  used  my  fingers  for  a  knife  and  fork  and 
spoon.  Everything  and  person  were  uproarious,  but  the  winds  and 
weather  were  glorious;  we  were  plunging  on  our  course  grandly.  We 
were  finally  worn  out  by  the  fair  winds,  but  the  captain  would  not 
slacken  sail  an  inch,  so  we  tore  on  very  uncomfortably,  thanking  God 
at  the  same  time  that  the  winds  were  fair. 

One  night  the  wind  went  to  sleep  and  woke  up  dead  against 
us.  We  looked  aghast  at  one  another;  we  did  not  expect  this  change. 
The  ship  was  soon  divested  of  her  flowing  robes.  She  looked  under 
her  bare  poles  like  a  skeleton.  The  tempest  grew  fierce  and  yet  more 
fierce,  and  wilder  the  wind  blew,  and  darker  grew  the  heavens,  till  we 
were  entirely  enshrouded  in  gloom.  For  three  days  and  nights  we 
saw  neither  sun,  moon  nor  stars.  The  waves  piled  one  on  top  of  the 
other,  and  rushed  mountain  high  against  our  noble  ship,  but  she 
obeyed  her  helm,  rose  majestically  to  meet  the  foaming  billows,  and 
rode  over  them.  No  observations  were  taken  for  several  days,  and 
everybody  was  very  quiet.  At  last  the  sun  peeped  out  and  cheered 
our  spirgs.  Again  we  caught  a  fair  wind,  and  were  dashing  on 
through  snow-white  foam  and  golden  sparkles,  which  left  behind  us  a 
long  tract  of  shiny  whiteness.     The  mate  caught  an  albatross,  which. 


SECOND  VOYAGE  TO  NEW  SOUTH  WALES.  343 

measured  twelve  feet  from  the  tip  of  one  wing  to  the  tip  of  the  other. 
Six  of  these  unwieldy  creatures  were  diving  after  some  chips  that  were 
thrown  out  to  them.  We  had  fair  winds,  full  sails  and  a  flowing  sea, 
and  all  well,  as  we  were  nearing  our  destination.  The  captain  was  all 
anxiety ;  he  had  never  sailed  in  these  seas  before,  and  before  he  knew 
he  ran  his  great  ship  too  near  to  land,  and  had  to  "bout  ship"  in  a  hur- 
ry. She  swung  round  in  obedience  to  her  helm,  and  stood  out  to  sea 
again.  It  was  well  our  great  ship  had  plenty  of  sea-room,  she  could 
not  be  penned  up  in  a  tight  place.  The  charts  were  spread  out  and 
consulted  every  few  minutes,  and  everybody  was  on  the  tiptoe  of  ex- 
pectation. We  were  at  the  entrance  of  Bass  Strait,  among  sunken 
rocks  and  other  dangers.  I  was  not  in  bed  all  night.  We  had  been 
losing  ground  and  tacking  about  all  day.  We  were  all  full  of  anxiety, 
but  no  one  was  prepared  for  the  terrific  squall  that  struck  our  proud 
ship  aback.  The  captain  shouted  in  tones  of  thunder,  to  the  great 
consternation  of  all  on  board.  It  was  thought  we  had  run  foul  of 
Cape  Otway.  The  ship  gave  a  pitch,  a  heavy  lurch,  and  down,  down 
she  went  on  her  beam-ends,  and  as  I  thought  never  to  rise  again. 
Everything  and  everybody  were  turned  topsy  turvy,  but  the  fearful 
squall  went  down  almost  as  suddenly  as  it  rose.  How  many  noble 
ships  have  sunk  in  those  seas  from  sunken  rocks  and  sudden  squalls. 

At  last  the  pilot  anchored  our  grand  ship  in  Hobson's  Bay  safe  and 
sound,  though  we  had  made  some  very  narrow  escapes  from  disaster. 
The  captain  had  every  reason  to  be  thankful  when  his  prosperous  voy- 
age ended.  His  vessel  was  in  "ship-shape  trim;"  he  had  lost  neither 
sail  nor  spar  nor  rope.  We  had  no  sickness,  no  deaths,  except  that  of 
the  sailor  who  was  sick  when  he  came  on  board.  I  had  been  the  sick- 
est passenger. 

A  steamer  came  for  all  the  passengers  to  land  them.  The  captain 
asked  me  to  wait  on  board  an  hour  or  two,  and  when  he  went  ashore 
he  would  tell  Mr.  Lord  that  I  was  on  board,  and  he  would  send  for 
me.  I  gave  my  letter  of  introduction  to  the  captain  to  deliver.  I 
spent  a  long,  wearisome  day  entirely  alone  in  that  great  ship.  The 
crew  were  on  board  to  be  sure,  but  I  thought  that  Mr.  Lord  and  the 
end  of  the  day  would  never  come.  At  last  the  captain  came,  and  he 
had  forgotten  to  deliver  my  letter  to  Mr.  Lord.  I  was  greatly  an- 
noyed, but  there  was  no  help  for  it.  Next  morning  the  captain  was 
ready  to  go  ashore,  and  told  me  he  would  not  forget  my  letter  that 
day.  I  told  him  to  wait  a  moment.  I  ran  to  my  cabin,  put  my  man- 
tle and  bonnet  on,  and  came  out  ready  to  go  ashore  with  him.  He 
said  he  could  not  possibly  take  me  ashore  with  him.     I  said  I  did  not 


344 


THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 


wish  liim  to  take  me  ashore  with  him,  but  I  was  going  ashore  all  the 
same,  and  I  should  hand  my  letter  to  Mr.  Lord  in  my  own  proper 
person. 

"The  stairway  is  not  out." 

"I  shall  climb  down  the  side  of  the  ship,  for  the  boat  that  carries 
you  ashore  takes  me  also.  I  would  not  stay  another  day  on  board  the 
ship  for  all  that  you  could  say." 

"You  are  very  decided,"  said  the  captain. 

And  the  stairway  was  ordered  to  be  put  out,  and  I  walked  very 
easily  down  into  the  boat,  went  ashore,  and  was  warmly  received  by 
Mr.  Lord  at  his  office;  but  he  asked  me  why  I  did  not  send  for  him, 
and  he  would  have  brought  his  own  boat  for  me.  I  told  him  of  the 
captain's  forgetfulness  the  day  before,  and  I  could  not  trust  him  again, 
so  came  with  him.  Mr.  Lord  laughed,  and  said  I  did  well.  He  took 
me  to  his  beautiful  home  at  St.  Kilda,  and  gave  me  in  charge  of  his 
wife,  who  heaped  kindnesses  on  me.  They  had  friends  to  meet  me 
at  a  dinner  party  who  were  from  America.  This  truly  elegant  and 
hospitable  family  wished  me  to  remain  and  rest  with  them  after 
my  long  voyage,  but  I  was  not  at  the  end  of  my  journey  yet.  Every 
attention  and  kindness  were  given  me.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lord  accom- 
panied me  on  board  the  great  Sebastian  Cabot,  where  I  said  good-bye 
to  all  the  officers  and  crew.  The  captain  joined  us,  and  took  us  on 
board  the  ship  that  was  to  take  me  to  Sydney,  and  another  boat  fol- 
lowed with  my  trunks.  Here  I  said  good-bye  to  my  kind  host  and 
hostess,  and  the  captain,  who  was  the  last  link  that  bound  me  to  the 
land  I  loved.  He  had  seen  and  spoken  to  loved  friends  there;  he  had 
brought  me  here,  and  parting  with  him  seemed  to  cut  me  loose  from 
every  tie.  God  bless  him  and  those  to  whom  he  is  returning,  was  my 
prayer.  As  soon  as  the  ship  moved  out  of  Port  Philip  I  was  sea-sick. 
I  was  in  bed  till  we  reached  Botany  Bay,  when  I  rose  to  look  at  the 
place  which  had  once  so  nearly  proved  fatal  to  our  good  ship  Portland, 
and  which  had  wrecked  many  a  noble  ship  when  near  her  port.  I  shud- 
dered as  I  looked  at  the  proud  promentory,  with  its  gigantic  head 
looming  above  the  deep  water  that  lashed  its  base,  looking  defiance 
at  wind  and  waves.  As  we  approached  Sydney  Heads,  a  spot  was 
pointed  out  to  me  where  over  four  hundred  souls  found  a  watery  grave 
a  few  days  before.  A  noble  ship  had  struck  the  rocks,  foundered,  and 
all  but  one  man  perished.  This  is  a  rocky,  relentless  and  dangerous 
coast.  We  steamed  through  between  the  Heads,  or  Sea-gates,  in  safe- 
ty, and  entered  Port  Jackson,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  harbors  in  the 
world,  named  for  the  man  who,  on  board  Captain  Cook's  ship,  dis- 


SECOND  VOYAGE  TO  NEW  SOUTH  WALES. 


345 


covered  the  inlet,  at  that  time  thought  to  be  too  insignificant  for  notice. 
This  beautiful  expanse  of  water,  with  its  lake-like  scenery  stretching 
away  eight  or  ten  miles  inland,  is  one  of  the  embellishments  of  the 
world.  The  bold  coast  fronting  the  Pacific  Ocean  is  suddenly  broken, 
and  the  great  cliffs  form  a  portal  to  an  estuary,  with  an  enormous 
extent  of  shore  line,  capacious  enough  to  shelter  the  navies  of  the  world. 
So  completely  is  the  harbor  hidden,  that  until  an  entrance  is  fairly 
effected  its  capacity  and  safety  can  not  be  conjectured.  A  vessel  in  a 
few  moments  sails  out  of  the  swell  of  the  ocean  into  calm,  deep  water, 
protected  on  every  side  by  high  lands.  The  elevated  shore  is  broken 
into  innumerable  bays  and  inlets.  Some  of  these  bays  or  inlets  extend 
into  the  lands  for  miles,  and  afford  large  capacity  for  harborage.  The 
bosom  of  the  whole  is  dotted  over  with  picturesque  islands,  which 
form  no  impediment  to  navigation.  The  depth  of  the  water  every- 
where is  sufficient  for  the  largest  ships  afloat.  As  we  steamed  up  the 
harbor  everything  was  quiet  and  calm  in  the  moonlight.  It  was  late, 
and  I  was  in  a  flutter  of  excitement. 

I  landed  in  Sydney  February,  1858.  I  was  very  sick,  but  full  of 
hope.  In  vain  I  looked  for  some  one  to  meet  me;  they  surely  knew 
that  I  was  coming,  but  still  I  looked  in  vain,  till  all  the  hacks  and  vehi- 
cles for  hire  were  gone.  I  could  get  nothing  to  carry  me,  and  I  was 
very  anxious  to  see  my  sister,  to  serve  whom  I  had  dared  the  dangers 
of  the  deep,  and  traveled  half  round  the  globe.  So  I  inquired  my  way 
to  Woolloomooloo,  where  she  lived,  and  finished  my  long  journey  by 
walking  two  miles,  to  meet  what?  One  of  the  direst  disappointments 
that  was  possible  to  fall  to  my  lot.  The  billows  of  disappointment 
rolled  over  me  with  crushing  weight,  and  nothing  but  the  grace  of  God 
could  have  saved  me  from  despair.  I  had  believed  a  lie,  and  acted 
upon  the  belief  of  it.  My  trust  had  been  repaid  with  treachery,  and 
yet  my  heart  was  throwing  out  its  tendrils  to  grasp  at  something,  but 
all  was  a  crumbling  ruin.  All  my  hopes  and  aspirations  trampled 
under  foot;  no  friendly  voice  bade  me  welcome.  There  was  no  haven 
of  rest  for  the  weary  dove.  My  frail  little  bark  had  breasted  the  bil- 
lows bravely,  and  rode  the  storm,  for  hope  sat  at  the  helm.  But  as  the 
noble  ship  in  sight  of  her  haven  was  wrecked,  so  it  was  with  me.  In 
sight  of  what  was  to  be  my  home,  my  hopes  were  dashed  against  the 
ruthless  rocks  of  disappointment,  and  sunk.  God  must  in  his  wisdom 
have  had  some  design  in  allowing  me  to  be  so  mercilessly  deceived, 
and  so  treacherously  dealt  with.  I  would  draw  a  veil  over  my  recep- 
tion and  welcome;  but  were  I  to  do  so  entirely,  my  sufferings  could 
not  be  understood.     I  was  bewildered  at  the  strangeness  of  all  I  saw. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

MY   RECEPTION. 

With  a  heart  full  of  love,  and  beating  loud  with  anticipation  of  a 
warm  and  affectionate  welcome,  I  entered  the  dwelling  of  my  sister 
sick  and  weary,  but  hopeful  and  happy.     The  long  separated  sisters 

met,  and  what  a  meeting.     Had  I  been  an  apparition,  Mrs.  W 

could  not  have  appeared  more  horrified.  After  a  long  stare  at  me,  she 
broke  out  into  a  long  wail  that  pierced  my  heart.  I  leaned  upon  a 
table  for  support;  I  was  filled  with  a  feeling  of  dismay.  My  brother- 
in-law  came  smiling,  and  swore  a  great  oath,  and  said : 

"I  am  glad  we  managed  to  bring  you  back  at  last;  you  were  too 
long  in  America." 

My  ears  were  assailed  with  a  tirade  against  America,  Americans, 
religion  and  religionists.  I  was  astounded  and  shocked  at  what  I  heard 
and  saw.  I  was  not  able  to  stand  on  my  feet  any  longer.  I  asked  if 
I  might  sit  down;  my  bonnet  was  still  on  my  head.  When  I  sat  down, 
I  mentally  asked  God,  in  agony  of  spirit,  was  it  for  this  I  had  given 
up  all  that  was  most  precious,  and  left  all  that  was  most  dear  to  my 
heart?  The  plans  of  usefulness  that  I  had  marked  out  for  myself,  I 
had  been  nursing  and  maturing  for  months,  ready  to  put  in  practice  as 
soon  as  possible,  all  blotted  out  in  bitter  tears  in  the  very  first  hour 
of  my  arrival.  I  asked  to  be  taken  to  my  room,  where  I  could  weep 
unseen.  Late  as  was  the  hour,  neighbors  and  acquaintances  had  been 
apprised  of  my  arrival,  and  had  come  to  stare  at  me,  and  smile  with 
the  heartless  pair,  seeming  to  glory  in  my  misery.  While  they 
were  reveling  downstairs,  I  was  sobbing  my  heart  out  upstairs,  and 
crying  to  God  to  give  me  grace  to  bear  this  new  and  unexpected  bur- 
den. Oh,  how  hard  to  bear!  In  myself  I  had  no  strength,  mental  or 
physical,  to  stem  this  great  tide  of  evil  that  had  set  in  against  me.  I 
cried  with  all  my  might  for  God  to  deliver  me. 

I  looked  back  on  all  the  way  I  had  come.  I  searched  my  heart  to 
see  if  I  had  thought,  or  said,  or  done  anything  to  cause  or  to  deserve 
this  great  calamity.  My  conscience  did  not  reproach  me  for  coming, 
for  I  had  made  it  a  matter  of  prayer  to  God  to  direct  me  in  the  path  of 

(346) 


MY  RECEPTION. 


347 


duty,  and  I  had  been  led  in  the  way  I  knew  not.  I  did  not  re^^ret 
going  to  that  country,  though  trouble  and  sorrow  attended  the  step. 
All  I  could  do  was  to  ask  God  for  grace,  mercy  and  patience,  and  this 
I  did  continually.  The  home  I  had  expected  to  find,  the  spot  I  had 
expected  to  be  a  radiating  center  of  great  usefulness,  did  not  exist.  I 
was  not  allowed  to  teach  the  children;  when  they  were  with  me,  they 
were  called  away  with  oaths  by  their  profane  father.  I  reasoned  with 
him  on  his  profanity,  but  to  no  purpose;  he  cursed  religion  and  its  ad- 
vocates. I  asked  him  what  he  wished  me  to  do,  now  that  I  had  come 
to  them.  I  may  not  pen  the  insulting  language  he  used.  He  had 
been  to  the  gold  mines  of  California,  and  with  the  gold  he  gathered, 
he  culled  the  worst  vices  of  the  worst  men  amongst  the  miners.  He 
was  a  profane  and  dissipated  gambler,  and  though  they  had  a  hand- 
some property,  Mr.  W was  rushing  at  a  mad  rate  on  the  broad 

road  to  ruin.  Through  weary  days  and  nights,  I  spent  a  sick  and  sor- 
rowful time.  My  spirit  crushed,  and  my  life  ebbing,  I  was  laid  low 
for  a  time.  The  great  kindness  and  consideration  of  the  friends  at 
Melbourne  presented  a  decided  contrast  to  the  treatment  I  was  now 
receiving  from  relatives.  I  was  a  fair  target  for  the  malicious  remarks 
of  the  selfish  man,  whose  speech,  intermingled  with  profanity,  sent  a 
chill  to  my  heart,  whose  coarse  jest  and  brutal  sneer  fell  upon  my  ear 
with  cutting  sharpness.     I  had  to  bear  the  crushing  weight  of  my  grief 

unshared,  for  Mrs.  W was  so  accustomed  to  such  conduct  from 

her  husband,  that  she  did  not  feel  it  or  care  for  it,  and  made  light  of  it 
— said  I  took  it  too  much  to  heart.  She  waa  as  heartless  as  he  was.  She 
thought  I  ought  to  be  thankful  that  they  gave  me  a  shelter  over  my 
head.  I  said  mere  shelter  is  not  home.  Home  without  hearts  is  no 
home.  I  had  hoped  to  find  a  home,  where  was  peace,  and  harmony, 
and  love;  but  my  hopes  were  shipwrecked.  I  determined  not  to  be- 
moan the  evil  they  had  done  me,  but  to  serve  them  in  some  way  if  I 
could.  I  had  been  urging  upon  the  father  the  importance  of  bringing 
up  the  children  in  the  way  they  should  go,  and  training  them  for  eter- 
nity, as  well  as  for  time,  and  I  asked  him  to  set  a  better  examjjle  to  them. 
He  turned  all  I  said  into  ridicule,  and  coarsely  and  jeeringly  said: 
"Had  I  seen  you  before  I  saw  my  wife,  I  would  have  had  you." 
"Mean,  contemjjtible  wretch,  do  you  supjjose  for  a  moment  that 
you  would  have  had  a  choice?  I  scorn  you;  I  only  needed  this  to 
fill  up  the  cup  of  loathing  with  which  I  loathe  you.  The  only  thing  I 
ever  saw  in  you  to  admire  was  your  devotion  to  your  wife  and  children; 
but  in  this,  as  in  everything  else,  I  have  been  deceived." 


348  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

The  creature  complimented  himself,  that  he  had  never  offered  me 
personal  violence. 

"This,"  I  said,  "you  dare  not  do." 

No  word  of  explanation  could  I  obtain  from  this  pair  why  they  had 
so  misled  me  by  their  false  statements,  to  cause  me  to  leave  a  happy 
home,  friends,  and  everything  that  my  heart  held  sacred,  to  strew 
thorns  in  my  path,  and  mock  and  insult  me  in  the  sorrow  they  had 
caused.  They  had  no  sympathy  for  my  friendships,  my  church  privi- 
leges, my  sphere  of  usefulness,  my  everything  I  valued,  and  left  for 
them.  I  hoped  God,  in  whom  I  trusted,  would  bring  me  out  of  my 
deep  distress.  My  way  was  dark;  I  was  enveloped  in  clouds,  thick 
and  heavy.     I  could  not  see  one  step  before  me. 

I  heard  of  a  small  number  of  disciples  who  met  at  Newtown,  a  few 
miles  from  Sydney.     I  found  my  way  out  there  one  Lord's  day,  and 

at  the  house  of  Mr.  K I  found  ten  or  twelve  persons  who  partook 

of  the  Lord's  Supper.  I  introduced  myself  to  them  by  showing  Mr. 
Campbell's  letter.  All  were  curious  to  see  his  chirography.  They  had 
heard  of  him  through  Mr.  Wallis  and  Mr.  King,  of  England.  They 
were  delighted  to  ask,  and  be  answered,  questions  about  a  man  whom 
they  had  heard  of,  but  of  whom  they  knew  nothing.  They  called 
themselves  "Campbellites,"  and  gloried  in  the  name.  They  called 
themselves  "Primitive  Christians"  also,  and  they  were  primitive 
enough;  they  were  forty  years  behind  the  times.  They  had  Sweden- 
borgians,  and  soul-sleepers,  and  those  who  believed  in  the  annihilation 
of  the  soul  after  death  among  them.  They  also  had  those  who  did  not 
believe  in  paying  a  preacher,  nor  in  building  a  house  to  worship  God 
in,  nor  in  having  family  worship. 

It  appeared  to  me  that  they  did  not  take  the  Bible,  the  whole  Bible, 
and  nothing  but  the  Bible,  for  their  rule  of  conduct.  After  supper  they 
exhorted  one  another,  and  exhorted  others  to  believe  their  theories. 
They  made  no  converts  from  the  world.  They  agreed  to  disagree  on 
many  points,  but  they  were  one  in  abusing  the  sects,  and  drawing 
down  upon  themselves  the  contumely  of  the  whole  community,  not 
undeservedly.  They  were  as  a  body  despised;  but  not  for  Christ's 
sake,  as  they  wished  to  believe,  but  for  the  manner  in  which  they 
abused  all  denominations  of  people.  I  was  told,  though  I  had  conie 
from  the  headquarters  of  the  present  reformation,  I  had  much  to  learn 
if  I  did  not  believe  in  the  destruction  of  the  soul  after  death.  Sweden- 
borg  was  held  up  to  me  as  a  model.  I  was  asked  to  read  their  differ- 
ent kinds  of  books.     I  said  I  had  the  Bible ;  I  needed  no  other  to 


MY  RECEPTION. 


349 


guide  me  heavenward.  They  were  anxious  to  discuss  these  matters 
with  me,  but  I  told  them  I  was  no  debater.  I  had  come  to  hear  the 
gospel  preached,  and  not  men's  theories,  and  if  I  could  not  enjoy  this 
privilege,  I  should  go  elsewhere.  They  could  not  refrain  from  preach- 
ing their  soul-sleeping  doctrines  at  me,  so  I  had  to  refrain  from  going 
to  hear  such  teaching.  They  did  not  succeed  in  making  me  a  con- 
vert, though  they  tried.  I  had  hoped  to  make  myself  useful  in  the 
Sunday-school,  but  they  had  none. 

I  liked  the  members  of  this  little  church  individually;  they  were 
mostly  poor  people,  but  of  good  moral  character;  but  as  a  church,  I 
could  not  join  them.     No  spiritual  home  for  me. 

"Like  Noah's  weary  dove, 

That  roved  the  earth  around; 
But  not  a  resting-place  above, 
The  cheerless  waters  found." 

I  asked  to  be  taken  to  my  mother's  grave.  Other  graves  I  also 
wished  to  see,  and  I  thought  a  visit  to  the  city  of  the  dead  might  calm 
my  troubled  mind;  but  the  visit  failed  to  have  the  desired  effect. 
Faint  and  feeble  were  my  steps,  as  I  wandered  about  looking  at  the 
tombstones.  When  I  found  the  little  mound  of  earth,  under  which 
lay  the  ashes  of  what  had  once  been  my  mother,  all  was  forgotten,  all 
was  forgiven;  nothing  but  my  great  love  I  had  for  her  remained,  and 
this  love  I  wished  to  transfer  to  my  sister.  My  flood  of  kindly  love 
was  met  and  thrown  back  by  treachery  and  deception  and  cruel  mock- 
ing at  my  distress.  As  I  sat  on  my  mother's  grave,  I  thought  all  the 
ills  of  life  were  concentrated  on  my  heart,  and  I  felt  as  if  that  poor 
heart  would  burst.  I  had  five  heart  spasms  in  as  many  weeks.  I  felt 
as  if  death  only  coul(f  relieve  the  physical  sufferings  induced  by  men- 
tal agony.     As  I  lay  on  my  bed  the  next  night,  pondering  the  dark 

ways  of  Providence,  I  heard  the  profane  oaths  of  Mr.  W ,  as  he 

stamped  upstairs  to  his  room.  My  room  was  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  landing.  He  stumbled  into  it,  saying,  with  an  ugly  oath,  he 
would  show  me  whether  he  dared  to  offer  me  any  personal  violence  in 
his  own  house.  I  saw  something  in  his  hand  as  he  passed  the  win- 
dow. I  thought  my  situation  perilous.  I  sprang  from  my  bed,  took 
hold  of  my  clothes,  walked  quietly  out  of  the  room  and  downstairs, 
wrapped  some  garments  around  me,  and  ran  out  of  the  house  that  I 
had  thought  was  to  shelter  me  for  life.  I  fled  from  it  in  haste  and  fear. 
I  ran  unmindful  where.     I  only  felt  I  must  get  as  far  away  from  the 


350  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

house  as  possible.  I  paused,  through  sheer  fatigue  and  weakness,  to 
regain  a  Httle  strength.     I  looked  up  to  the  quiet  sky,  and  said : 

"Father,  again  am  I  cast  out  a  homeless  stranger,  moneyless,  friend- 
less and  alone,  in  a  land  steeped  in  iniquity." 

I  had  been  kept  in  torturing  suspense;  what  I  feared  most  had 
come.  I  was  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  danger.  My  soul  sank  al- 
most to  despair.  I  could  not  stand  where  I  was,  so  I  moved  on  with 
my  spirit  in  the  dust.  I  wondered  if  God  had  forsaken  me.  Oh,  the 
dark  distrust  of  that  hour.     Out  of  the  depths,  I  cried: 

"Save  Lord,  or  I  perish." 

The  still,  small  voice  whispered,  "I  will  never  leave  thee  nor  for- 
sake thee." 

I  wandered  on  till  I  came  to  the  house  of  a  widow  lady,  who  had 
been,  at  my  request  in  times  gone  by,  kindly  treated  by  my  mother, 
when  she  was  a  stranger  in  the  colony.  I  feared  to  ring  her  bell  to 
ask  for  shelter  for  the  night,  she  might  do  as  my  own  had  done ;  and 
I  was  afraid  to  be  on  the  street  all  night.  I  asked  God  to  give  me 
courage  to  ring  the  bell.  I  gave  one  spasmodic  pull  at  the  door-bell, 
which  caused  Mrs.  J to  raise  her  window  in  some  alarm,  and  ask, 

"Who  is  there?" 

I  answered  very  feebly;  she  knew  my  voice,  and  ran  down,  opened 
the  door  herself,  and  caught  me  fainting  in  her  arms.  I  was  taken 
upstairs,  and  she  said : 

"Something  has  happened  to  send  you  here  at  this  time  of  the  night, 
but  while  I  have  a  home,  it  and  my  heart  will  always  be  open  for  you. 
So  you  see  when  one  door  closes  another  opens." 

I  cried  most  bitterly  all  night,  and  exclaimed, 

"Why  is  it  that  every  one  but  my  own  are,  and  ever  have  been, 
kind  to  me?" 

My  soul  was  low-sunk  beneath  the  heavy  load,  and  my  heart  was 
dying  with  grief,  and  my  bodily  strength  had  not  returned.  What  was 
I  to  do  ?  What  could  I  do  ?  I  wrote  to  Mr.  Watts,  and  told  him  if 
his  ship  was  in  Sydney  harbor  instead  of  Port  Philip  that  I  would  re- 
turn to  the  States  with  him.  He  wrote  by  return  mail  a  very  kind 
letter,  saying  he  would  gladly  give  me  a  free  passage  back  to  the 
States,  as  he  had  said  once  in  a  joke,  now  he  tendered  it  in  earnest; 
if  I  could  meet  him  at  New  Zealand,  he  would  stop  there  on  his  way 
across  the  Pacific  Ocean  to  Peru,  and  he  would  take  me  safely  home 
again.  He  was  to  leave  Melbourne  the  day  after  he  wrote.  Here 
was  an  opportunity  to  return  to  the  loved  friends  I  had  left,  but  I  had 


MY  RECEPTION.  35 1 

no  money  to  take  me  to  New  Zealand.  I  wrote  to  Mr.  Edmunds  to 
send  me  money.  I  wrote  to  Mr.  Lord  to  say  that  I  had  met  with 
disappointment;  I  was  too  much  mortified  to  tell  him  what.  He  at 
once  wrote  a  kind  letter,  sympathizing  with  me  in  my  disappointment, 
saying  he  would  do  everything  in  his  power  for  me,  and  to  let  him 
know  what  he  could  do.  He  kindly  and  thoughtfully  inclosed  two 
letters  of  introduction,  one  to  the  American  Consul,  the  other  to  the 
ex-American  Consul,  a  wealthy  merchant  in  Sydney.  These  letters 
were  opportune,  as  I  might  exert  myself  in  the  interests  of  the  Amer- 
ican Bible  Union  till  my  mind  could  settle  on  what  course  I  could 
pursue,  I  presented  my  letters,  was  well  and  kindly  received,  and  was 
promised  all  the  aid  possible  in  introducing  the  new  translation  of  the 
Scriptures  into  the  colony.  Mrs.  Williams,  the  young  and  beautiful 
wife  of  the  ex-American  Consul,  came  to  see  me,  and  invited  me 
to  spend  a  week  with  her,  or  a  month  if  it  were  convenient  to  me. 
While  I  was  her  guest,  she  lavished  great  kindness  on  me.  She  gave 
a  dinner  party  that  was  purely  American,  that  I  might  feel  at  home. 
All  the  ship-masters  in  port,  with  their  wives  and  some  American 
merchants,  were  there.  The  American  ladies  were  all  dressed  ele- 
gantly and  in  good  taste,  to  the  great  admiration  of  our  beautiful  host- 
ess, who  said  our  style  of  dress  was  very  superior  to  theirs.  She 
adopted  our  style,  as  she  called  it.  I  gave  her  patterns  of  various 
dresses,  which  gratified  her  very  much.  These  little  amenities  cost 
nothing. 

I  had  told  Mr.  Williams  and  the  Consul  to  look  out  for  a  ship  diat 
was  going  direct  to  the  States,  as  I  wished  to  return  the  first  oppor- 
tunity. While  waiting,  however,  I  wished  to  interest  the  wealthy, 
the  erudite  and  those  in  high  places,  in  the  great  work  of  revision. 
Money,  criticisms  and  influence  were  all  needed  to  forward  the  great 
work.  While  having  introductions  to  the  great  scholars  and  men  of 
wealth,  and  mingling  with  the  best  classes  of  society,  I  had  no  home, 
no  money,  no  bread.  I  had  a  fine  wardrobe  and  library,  that  was  all. 
Did  those  wlio  caressed  me  most  as  an  elegant  American  lady  but 
know  the  heavy  load  of  grief  I  carried  under  a  pleasant  manner,  the 
-Bible  Union  would  have  suffered.  Sol  bore  my  own  burden,  and 
carried  my  own  sorrow,  and  poured  into  the  ear  of  God  alone  all  my 
troubles  and  difficulties,  and  from  him  asked  help  in  my  time  of  need. 
I  prayed  for  fortitude  to  take  root  in  my  heart,  that  mentally  and  phys- 
ically I  might  grow  stronger,  to  be  able  to  stem  the  torrent  that  was 
against  me.     A  cheerful  manner  was  the  silvery  veil  tliat  concealed 


352  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

the  sad  emotions  of  my  heart.  The  more  cheerful  the  manifestations, 
the  deeper  the  sorrow.  The  veil,  however,  checked  the  penetrating, 
cold,  iinsympathizing  glances,  and  caused  them  to  rest  on  the  bright- 
ness visible,  which  concealed  from  view  the  way  I  was  upheld  in  the 
performance  of  a  bitter  task.  "A  reined  tongue  and  a  bursting  heart 
are  hard  at  once  to  bear." 

At  the  house  of  a  well-to-do  merchant,  I  was  an  honored  and  wel- 
come guest.  He  had  taken  a  slight  interest  in  the  Bible  revision.  I 
hoped  the  interest  would  increase.  I  was  in  their  handsomely  furn- 
ished parlor  up-stairs  one  day  (they  lived  on  the  business  premises  till 

their  country  residence  was  finished),  when  Mr.  P came  in,  in  a 

hurry,  with  a  bonnet  in  his  hand,  saying  the  milliners  were  all  at  dinner, 
and  this  bonnet  had  to  be  trimmed  and  sent  off  by  the  train  in  a  short 
time,  and  there  was  not  a  person  on  the  premises  who  could  trim  it. 

"Let  me  try;"  I  said. 

He  threw  it  down,  not  thinking  I  had  fingers  deft  enough  to  trim  a 
bonnet.  I  trimmed  and  sent  it  down  to  him,  and  he  came  back  loud 
in  his  praises  of  the  taste  and  style  of  the  work.  I  was  in  pressing 
need  of  money.  The  widow  at  whose  board  I  was  always  welcome 
had  a  family  to  support  on  a  small  income,  and  I  felt  that  I  ought  to 
pay  for  the  bread  I  ate ;  but  money  I  had  none.  I  was  willing  to 
work  at  anything  my  hands  found  to  do;  but  where  could  I  find  work 
to  do?  I  bethought  me  of  the  bonnet,  and  the  large  establishment  of 
my  new  acquaintance.  I  at  once  went  to  their  house,  where  smiles 
and  a  glad  welcome  always  met  me.  I  approached  my  business  with 
great  timidity;  they  knew  not  my  necessitous  condition,  or  I  would 

not  have  been  so  welcome.     I  asked  Mr.  P if  he  could  give  a 

lady  a  little  of  the  surplus  work  of  his  large  house;  she  was  in  need 
of  money,  and  she  would  do  her  work  well,  for  she  desired  to  earn 
the  money.      He  burst  out  into  a  mocking  laugh,  and  said  : 

"I  trust  none  of  your  poor  ladies.  I  want  none  of  them  to  work 
for  me;  they  are  nothing  but  impostors,  all  of  them.  Don't  you  have 
anything  to  do  with  them.  The  poor  ladies!  What  makes  them 
poor  ?  As  a  rule,  they  are  doubtful  characters.  I  advise  you  not  to 
let  any  of  them. impose  on  you." 

Great  Father,  why  was  I  made  with  a  soul  so  sensitive  ?  I  shrank 
farther  and  farther  into  myself.  I  was  glad  I  had  not  spoken  of  my 
wants.  The  very  best  this  house  could  provide  was  not  good  enough 
for  me ;  they  lavished  their  good  things  on  me,  because  they  thought 
I  needed  nothing.     Had  they  thought  that  I  wished  to  earn  my  bread 


MY  RECEPTION.  353 

honestly  in  the  sight  of  all  men,  I  should  have  fallen  below  par  in 
their  esteem.  What  false  views  of  life  some  people  have.  Daily  I 
looked  in  the  papers  to  see  if  there  were  any  "wants"  that  I  could 
supply.  I  was  willing  to  work  at  anything  I  was  able  to  do,  anything 
rather  than  eat  any  one's  bread  for  nothing.  Paul  tells  us,  "If  any 
will  not  work,  neither  shall  he  eat." 

"Six  girls  wanted  to  prepare  work  for  a  machine."  Surely  I  can  do 
this.  I  went  to  the  house,  and  inquired  for  the  foreman,  who  came 
smiling  and  bowing. 

"What  can  I  do  for  you,  madam?" 

'  'You  want  persons  to  prepare  work  for  a  machine  ?  Will  you  give 
me  a  portion  of  it  to  prepare?     I  shall  try  to  do  it  well." 

"What!"  said  the  man  with  a  broad  stare  at  me.  "Do  you  want 
the  work  for  yourself?" 

I  said  "yes,"  in  a  faint  voice. 

"Oh,  no;  we  can  not  employ  you;  we  want  poor  persons." 

The  words  nearly  choked  me,  when  I  said,  "Sir,  I  am  poor;  I  need 
work.     Will  you  give  me  some  if  you  can?" 

He  looked  at  me  harder  than  ever,  and  said  very  deliberately : 

"We  can  not  possibly  place  a  lady  of  your  style  of  dress  and  aadrese 
with  our  employees." 

I  bowed;  I  could  not  speak.  I  felt  as  if  I  could  never  get  out  of 
that  man's  sight;  my  knees  trembled;  I  was  faint  and  sick,  I  could 
hardly  walk.  Did  that  man  think  that  I  was  an  impostor?  Did  he 
think  I  had  a  doubtful  character?  My  style  of  dress  was  simple,  and 
my  address  humble,  yet  both  were  objected  to.  "God  help  me,"  I 
cried;  "I  have  a  heavy  load  to  carry,  and  a  fierce  battle  to  fight." 
My  courage  seemed  to  wane.  I  feared  to  look  at  a  man  who  had  the 
least  suspicion  of  me  in  any  way.  "Down  in  the  deep  and  hidden 
chambers  of  the  heart  many  a  fierce  battle  is  fought,  unseen  by  the  eye 
of  mortal;  but  God  sees  and  watches  the  combat  on  the  broad  plains 
of  conscience,  though  we  can  not  always  realize  the  fact."  A  sparrow 
can  not  fall  to  the  groind  without  his  knowledge.  And  if  duty  be  vic- 
tor, he  approves  if  we  are  even  wounded  in  our  mortal  conflicts.  I 
sought  work  of  various  kinds  carefully,  and  with  tears  and  prayers,  but 
could  find  none. 

I  told  Mr.  P ,  that  if  I  returned  to  America,  I  had  a  choice  col- 
lection of  books  that  I  should  dispose  of  to  the  highest  bidder.  H^ 
b«came  the  purchaser  of  over  eighty  volumes  of  my  largest  works.  I 
pK^tcd  with  my  books  as  a  last  resource  for  bread.     I  met  a  gentleman 

r       22 


354  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

from  Illawarra,  a  country  district,  who  became  interested  in  the  New 
Revision  at  this  house,  and  he  gave  me  a  pressing  invitation  to  go  to 
Illawarra.  He  promised,  if  I  went,  that  he  would  do  all  he  could  for 
the  work.  Out  of  the  money  I  got  for  my  books,  and  I  got  a  good 
price  for  them — "men  help  thee  most  who  think  thou  hast  no  need" — 
I  was  able  to  pay  my  passage  to  Illawarra.  It  lay  on  the  Pacific  Coast, 
one  hundred  miles  south  of  Sydney.  At  Kiama,  a  beautifully  situated 
town,  the  port  of  the  large  and  important  district,  I  landed,  and  was 

met  by  Mr.  M ,  with  a  horse  and  side-saddle.     I  mounted,  and 

rode  with  him  to  the  top  of  an  exceeding  high  mountain,  where  he  had 
perched  his  house,  and  called  it  "Mount  Joy."  I  was  received  by  his 
pleasant  wife  very  cordially. 

As  I  said,  I  ro5e  to  the  top  of  Mount  Joy,  which  was  away  up  in 
the  clouds,  and  had  a  splendid  outlook  from  it.  I  had  a  great  many 
callers  to  see  me,  and  when  I  returned  the  calls,  I  presented  the  claims 
of  the  American  Bible  Union.  I  showed  specimens  of  the  New  Transla- 
tion, and  various  other  works  of  the  union.  I  had  bought  a  full  supply 
of  Mr,  Campbell's  works,  and  I  introduced  them  by  lending  some,  and 
some^I  gave  away.  I  found  a  few  wealthy,  intelligent  men  who  seemed 
to  like  Mr.  Campbell's  debates,  and  gave  me  orders  to  send  for  a  sup- 
ply for  them.  This  I  gladly  consented  to  do.  I  thought  a  little  leaven 
of  Christianity  might  leaven  a  large  lump  of  the  bigoted,  ritualistic 
Episcopalians;  the  stiff  and  proud  Presbyterians;  the  bitter,  biting 
Methodists,  and  the  liberal  Independents,  all  of  whom  were  represented 
in  the  beautiful  town  of  Kiama.  People  came  to  this  place  on  Lord's 
days  from  great  distances  to  worship  in  their  different  houses. 

I  had  an  invitation  to  visit  "Omega  Retreat,"  the  name  of  Mr. 

G 's  estate  at  an  early  day.    Mr.  G was  Mrs.  M 's  father, 

a  great  land  owner,  and  very  wealthy.  A  note  in  my  journal  says; 
"The  old  gentleman  is  handsome,  tall,  of  commanding  presence,  and 
well  proportioned.  He  is  highly  educated,  as  he  had  been  prepared 
for  the  Presbyterian  pulpit,  not  far  from  where  Mr.  Campbell  was 
borne,  in  Ireland,  and  in  outward  appearance  he  was  not  unlike  Mr. 

Campbell."    Mrs.  G was  a  perfect  lady,  and  a  good  Episcopalian, 

and  her  husband's  senior  a  decade  of  years.  She  was  low  in  stature, 
not  prepossessing  in  her  appearance,  but  pleasant  and  gentle  in  her  man- 
ners.    They  were  very  cordial  to  me.     Their  only  son,  W ,  was  a 

bachelor,  between  thirty  and  forty  years  of  age,  with  his  father's  hand- 
some features,  and  his  mother's  low  stature.  He  was  gross  and  coarse 
and  egotistical,  though  somewhat  cultivated  in  manner.     He  was  very 


MY  RECEPTIOX.  -jrc 

wealthy,  and  this  made  him  popular  with  the  country  belles,  conse- 
qufriitly,  he  had  only  to  ask  a  feminine  to  marry  him,  and  she  must 
feel  honored  by  his  choice,  and  would  gladly  accept  him.  So  the  litde 
man  thought.      His  father,  mother  and  sister  thought  no  one  in  the 

district  was  good  enough  for  their  dear  W .     They  preferred  for 

him  a  lady  whose  mind  was  cultivated,  and  whose  manners  were  re- 
fined.    He  was  the  only  son,  and  the  family  idol. 

The  father  and  mother  took  a  great  liking  to  me.  I  was  pleased  at 
their  so  doing;  I  thought  I  would  succeed  in  my  mission  all  the  better. 
At  their  urgent  request,  I  consented  to  be  their  guest  as  long  as  I 

stayed  in  the  district.     Mr.  G ,  being  a  classical  scholar,  I  hoped 

he  would  take  an  interest  in  the  work  of  revision.  In  this  I  mistook 
him,  for  the  Bible  had  no  interest  for  him;  the  only  interest  he  cared 
for  was  his  dividends.  He  was  renegade  to  his  principles,  and  boasted 
in  infidelity.  This  fact  made  me  think  very  differently  of  the  old  man, 
though  his  attentions  to  me  were  very  great.  The  farmers  everywhere 
for  a  great  distance  round  were  his  tenants;  his  rent  roll  was  very  large. 
The  old  gentleman  took  me  many  a  little  excursion  of  pleasure,  to  see 
the  different  places  of  interest  in  this  most  beautiful  locality.  On  re- 
turning one  day  from  the  beach,  where  the  great  rolling  waves  of  the 
Pacific  had  been  working  wonders  among  the  cliffs,  we  stopped  at  one 
of  the  farm-houses.  On  the  veranda  stood  a  girl  of  about  ten  or 
twelve  years  old,  her  arms  and  legs  bare  to  the  shoulders  and  knees, 
which  were  beautifully  formed,  and  twined  in  a  most  graceful  fashion 
round  one  of  the  posts,  her  beautiful  head  leaning  on  her  arms.     I 

stood  and  admired  the  picture.      Mr.  G spoke  to  her,  and  her 

rich  Irish  brogue  sounded  pleasandy.    I  turned  to  Mr.  G ,  and  said : 

"I  should  like  to  teach  that  girl;  there  is  something  in  her." 

"Honey  dear"  (this  was  a  favorite  expression  of  his),  "that  would 
never  do;  she  is  but  a  poor,  ignorant,  Irish  girl." 

"That  is  one  reason  why  I  should  like  to  teach  her,  and  see  what 
could  be  made  out  of  this  piece  of  ignorance.  I  should  like  to  have  a 
score  of  just  such;  they  might  wield  an  influence  for  good  in  this 
district." 

"I  could  not  think  of  seeing  you  in  a  school-room  teaching  a  lot  of 
little  ragamuffins,  so  ignorant  they  would  not  know  how  to  behave 
themselves." 

"You  are  providing  me  widi  good  reasons  for  wishing  to  teach  these 
ragamuffins." 


356  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

Mr.  G told  his  wife  and  son  of  my  chimerical  idea.    Mrs.  G 

said : 

"My  dear,  it  is  very  kind  and  charitable  to  wish  to  teach  these  poor 
children,  but  let  some  with  coarser  minds  and  rougher  hands,  and 
those  accustomed  to  hard  work,  take  up  the  job;  it  is  not  fit  for  you." 

"Charitable,  but  chimerical.  It  won't  do;  you  are  too  much  of  a 
lady  to  enter  such  a  sphere,"  said  Mr.  W . 

I  felt  inclined  to  ask  them  to  define  the  word  lady.  Had  they  known 
its  true  significance,  they  would  not  have  thought  I  was  out  of  my 
sphere  in  trying  to  dispense  the  bread  of  life  and  knowledge  to  the 
poor  and  ignorant.  But  the  education  of  the  ignorant  was  to  be  in- 
trusted to  the  coarse  and  the  rough.  I  was  made  to  feel  that  in  this 
district  culture  and  refinement  were  out  of  place  in  a  school-room. 

"You  can  do  better  than  teach.  You  might  marry  a  rich  man,  a 
rich  man's  only  son.  Who  knows,  but  I  might  have  you  myself," 
W said. 

I  turned  aside  his  coarse  joke  by  saying,  I  purposed  returning  to 
America  the  first  opportunity  that  I  had  to  do  so.  Meantime,  while 
waiting  for  that  opportunity,  I  had  a  great  desire  to  teach,  if  I  could 
raise  a  school.  I  liked  the  country,  and  I  had  taken  a  great  fancy  to 
that  Irish  girl. 

I  said  everything  was  charming  to  the  eye — the  climate  salubrious, 
the  vegetation  intertropical,  the  scenery  magnificent — and  why  should 
a  population  be  reared  in  the  midst  of  so  much  beauty  as  ignorant  as  the 
ornithorhyncus  that  swam  in  their  streams  and  burrowed  in  the  earth. 
I  can  not  consent  to  be  idle  one  day  if  I  can  get  a  school,  so  I  hope,  if 
you  have  not  predetermined  that  your  tenants'  children  shall  remain  in 
ignorance,  that  you  will  help  me  to  get  up  a  school,  for  a  few  months 
at  least.  He  said  there  was  not  a  place  on  all  his  land  where  a  school 
could  be  kept,  save  in  an  old  slab  hut  on  the  side  of  Mount  Pleasant, 
and  it  was  very  much  dilapidated,  and  not  fit  for  use.  I  said  I  should 
like  to  try  it,  I  felt  a  decided  preference  to  teach  the  poor,  ignorant 
children,  than  to  wait  in  idleness,  to  be  chosen  to  be  "the  wife  of  a 
rich  man,  a  rich  man's  only  son." 

A  swift  messenger  was  sent  to  summon  all  the  tenants  to  meet  their 
landlord  at  the  hut  on  the  hillside.  They  came  at  the  time  appointed, 
a  motley  group  of  men  in  shirt-sleeves,  dirty,  and  hair  uncombed,  redo- 
lent of  the  stockyard  and  pig-sty.     Mr.  G stood  up  at  the  end  of 

a  large  room  that  had  several  large  holes  in  the  floor,  and  several  piles 
of  ashes,  rags  and  dirt  to  stumble  over,  or  kick  through,  and  said : 


MY  RECEPTION. 


357 


"Here  is  a  lady  who  has  come  from  America.  She  is  going  to  stay 
in  the  district  some  time,  and  she  would  like  to  open  a  school  if  you 
will  send  your  children.     What  say  you  ?" 

"Och,  thin,  I  think  it  a  great  honor  that  such  a  lady  shud  tache 
our  childer." 

"Sir,"  said  another- Pat,  "shure  the  lady  can't  stay  heres 'lone  in 
this  hut."     Turning  to  me,  he  said:   "Shure  yees  can't." 

I  smiled  at  the  idea  of  their  mentioning  such  a  thing  as  stayiiig 
alone,  but  I  answered  : 

"Certainly  not,  and  if  I  could  stay  alone,  it  should  not  be  in  such 
a  tumbled-down  hut  as  this." 

These  men,  dirty  as  pigs  and  ignorant  as  mules,  were  of  the  lowest 
order  of  Irish.  These  were  my  patrons-elect.  One  of  them  was  showing 
off  his  "larnin,"  by  telling  another  that  the  sun  went  round  the  world. 
I  corrected  them,  and  said  the  world  went  round  the  sun.  They 
gaped  at  me,  open-mouthed,  when  I  said  that.  They  all  said  they 
were  glad  to  have  me  come  among  them.  They  all  promised  to  set 
to  work  and  get  the  hut  put  in  good  order  by  the  time  I  should  go  to 
Sydney  for  my  trunks  and  return  to  commence  work  among  their 
children.  As  they  passed  out,  some  of  them  Dulled  their  forelocks, 
and  some  said : 

"Wees  glad  yees  cumed  among  us." 

In  the  gloaming,  I  was  sitting  alone  in  Mrs.  G 's  parlor,  with- 
out lights,  in  front  of  a  wood-fire,  my  feet  on  the  fender;  and  as  I 
watched  the  flickering  flame  of  the  dying  embers,  I  fell  into  a  reverie. 
Unpleasant  thoughts  intruded  themselves  unbidden,  and  would  not  be 
thrust  out.  An  unheard  voice  vibrated  through  my  brain,  whispering, 
"Do  not  take  up  your  abode  here."  I  looked  round;  drooping  day- 
light had  faded  into  night.  Her  sable  mantle  had  cast  everything  into 
deep  shadow.  I  was  not  superstitious,  but  I  felt  myself  in  the  pres- 
ence of  a  higher  power  than  anything  earthly,  and  I  listened  to  my 
busy  soul  with  her  boding  murmurs.  A  few  hours  before,  I  had  drawn 
myself  up  with  something  akin  to  indignation  at  the  idea  of  living 
alone  in  the  ruined  hut  on  the  hillside.  The  idea  of  living  at  the 
houses  of  any  of  the  men  I  had  seen  was  too  shocking  to  be  thought 
of  for  a  moment.  Some  had  suggested  that  I  should  stay  at  their 
houses  week  about.     I  was  thankful   to  Mr.  G when  he   said: 

"No,  no;  this  lady  stays  at  our  house,  she  has  a  room  there;  both 
Mrs.  G and  myself  will  be  only  too  happy  to  have  her  society." 

After  this  I  breathed  more  freely.     We  came  home,  and  I  began  to 


258  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

ponder  all  that  I  heard  that  day  in  my  heart.     My  brown  study  was 

interrupted  by  W calling  me  to  come  to  tea.     At  tlie  table  I  was 

absent-minded. 

"Honey  dear,"  said  Mr.  G ,  "what  is  the  matter?" 

I  gave  a  little  start,  and  apologized,  and  said  nothing  was  the  mat- 
ter, only  I  had  changed  my  mind.     Both  father  and  son  exclaimed, 
"I  am  glad  of  it.     Teaching  is  not  what  you  ought  to  do." 
"But,"  I  said,  "I  still  intend  to  teach,  only  I  change  my  residence 
from  this  house  to  the  hut,  where  I  now  purpose  to  live." 

They  all  stared  at  me  and  said:   "Impossible;  you  can  not  do  it." 
"I  shall  try  it,"  I  said,  "and  if  I  can  not  live  there  I  shall  leave. 
All  I  now  ask  is,  that  you  put  the  hut  in  habitable  order,  and  in  two 
weeks  I  shall  return  ready  for  work." 

Mr.  G said:   "If  we  once  let  you  go  to  Sydney  you  will  not 

come  back  to  us." 

"My  word  is  given  to  you;  I  shall  return  if  all  is  well." 

I  was  asked  why  I  wished  to  live  at  the  hut  when  I  had  such  a 

comfortable  home  where  I  was.    I  said,  because  I  thought  it  was  best. 

Humanly  speaking,  and  to  all  outward  seeming,  it  was  not  for  the 

best.     I  did  not  know  the  people  in  the  midst  of  whom  I  was  to  live, 

nor  could  I  associate  with  the  specimens  I  saw.     Mr.  G 's  family 

was  the  only  one  I  could  associate  with,  and  they  were  anxious  and 
willing  that  I  should  live  in  comfort  at  their  house,  and  why  not  live 
at  the  big  house  and  receive  all  the  prestige  from  it  they  were  willing 
to  bestow.  My  actions  seemed  unwise  in  the  eyes  of  the  worldly ; 
but  I  felt  the  power  of  the  still,  small  voice  which  had  said,  "Do  not 
take  up  your  abode  here,"  and  I  obeyed  the  warning.  Subsequent 
events  justified  the  step;  at  least  I  thought  so. 

I  had  received  numerous  orders  for  books,  and  had  written  for 
them.  I  had  great  opposition  in  introducing  them,  but  I  persevered. 
When  I  returned  to  Sydney,  I  had  to  sell  my  little  sewing-machine 
and  some  of  the  fine  dresses  that  I  bought  at  New  York.  With  this 
money  I  purchased  some  provisions  and  some  furniture  to  take  with 
me.  I  had  everything  packed  up  and  ready  to  start  on  another  jour- 
ney, when  letters  from  loved  friends  arrived  from  America.  They  had 
been  written  before  I  left  America,  but  they  were  welcome  all  the  same. 
One  long,  long  letter  was  from  Mr.  Gano,  full  of  love  and  sympathy, 
and  encouragement  to  hold  out  faithful.  Prayers  and  blessings  were 
breathed  in  every  line.     He  finished  with, 


MY  RECEPTION.  350 

•  *  *  "My  dear  sister,  we  miss  you  much,  very  much  indeed.  Your 
cheerful  and  pleasant  society ;  your  interesting,  improving  and  instructive  con- 
verse ;  your  kind  and  efficient  assistance  in  the  care,  instruction,  management  and 
most  excellent  training  of  the  children.  Often  Catherine  and  I  wish  you  were 
back  with  us,  to  live  with  us  while  we  live.  •  *  *  And  now,  dear  sister,  let 
me  express  my  gratitude  to  you  for  all  the  proofs  of  kind  regards  you  have  shown 
to  me  and  mine.  May  our  gracious  heavenly  Father,  through  our  Lord  and 
Savior,  guide,  guard  and  bless  you,  and  make  you  a  blessing.  Catherine  and 
a  host  of  others  send  love,  etc.  Yours  in  Christ,  John  A.  Gano. 

New  York,  October  25,  1857. 
My  very  dear  sister : 

I  felt  sad  at  parting  with  you  to-day  on  board  the  ship  that  is  to  carry  you 
away  from  us,  and  which  is  to  be  your  home  for  so  many  weeks ;  but  you  are  in 
the  hands  of  Him  who  never  sleeps.  He  will  preserve  you  on  the  deep,  and 
will  bring  you  to  your  friends  so  far  from  the  churches  and  Christians  and  scenes 
you  love.  You  have  greatly  interested  us  all,  and  many  prayers  from  your  new 
friends  in  New  York  will  go  up  for  your  safety.  We  will  think  of  you  on  the 
deep.  He  who  quieted  the  waves  of  the  stormy  Galilee  will  give  his  angels 
charge  of  you,  to  bear  you  up  above  the  dangers  of  the  deep.  I  trust  when 
you  read  this  in  your  beloved  sister's  home  you  will  find  that  God  is  there,  and 
you  will  be  able  to  say  that  your  voyage  was  pleasant.  I  forgot  to  ask  a  favor  of 
you.  Is  it  too  late?  During  your  voyage  you  could  write  down  your  thoughts, 
and  I  should  love  to  have  an  account  of  your  voyage.  If  you  have  preserved 
any  such  reminiscences,  be  assured  that  I  should  b-;  glad  to  receive  them.  Was 
your  captain  kind?     Were  your  fellow-passengers  agreeable?     Tell  me  all? 

Your  brother  in  Christ,  Chas.  A.  Buckbee. 

These  letters  caused  me  to  weep  sad  tears,  because  I  was  so  for  from 
those  who  loved  me,  and  I  had  not  the  power  to  return  to  them. 
But  they  also  cheered  me  in  my  exile.  The  prayers  that  were  daily 
sent  up  to  heaven  for  me  would  surely  be  heard  and  answered 
on  my  behalf.  My  reliance  on  God's  protecting  arm  was  made 
stronger. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

TEACHING  ON  HURRICANE  HILL,  AND  OTHER  LABORS. 

August  2,  1858.  I  landed  once  more  at  Kiama,  deathly  sea-sick. 
We  had  a  very  rough  passage  down.  All  my  luggage  was  landed,  but 
there  was  no  one  to  meet  me  or  to  carry  it  to  the  hut,  which  was  six 
miles  from  town.  I  asked  a  stranger  who  was  going  that  way  if  he 
would  carry  it,  and  I  would  try  to  walk;  but  I  was  so  sick  that  I 
broke  down  ere  I  was  half  way,  and  had  to  take  a  seat  on  the  wagon. 
The  impression  went  out  from  the  big  house  that  I  would  not  return, 
so  the  hut  was  in  the  same  dilapidated  state  that  it  was.  Myself,  bag 
and  baggage,  were  left  outside  of  the  hut  on  the  hillside.  There  I  sat  in 
the  midst  of  all  my  worldly  goods,  on  a  carpet  of  emerald  under  a  can- 
opy of  sapphire.  I  sat  there  several  hours,  waiting  for  some  of  the 
patrons  to  come  to  me.  I  was  too  sick  to  go  to  them,  even  if  I  knew 
the  way.  I  hoped  some  one  would  pass  and  help  me  to  put  my  trunks 
under  shelter,  and  take  me  to  some  house  for  the  night.  The  sun  was 
far  on  his  westward  journey,  and  still  no  one  came.  I  was  getting 
cold;  the  sea-air  was  chilly.  I  had  come  from  afar  to  devote  myself 
to  the  good  of  others,  but  I  stood,  like  the  mast  of  a  ship  in  a  wreck, 
alone  and  erect,  without  support,  in  the  midst  of  calamities  that  were 
heavy  to  bear  without  sympathy.  O  God,  thou  wilt  not  forsake  me, 
though  my  way  be  dark  and  my  future  hidden,  yet  will  I  trust  thee, 
for  thou  art  still  my  Savior. 

I  saw  a  man  coming  toward  me  at  last,  perhaps  to  ask  me  what  I 
was  doing  there.  It  was  one  of  my  patrons  who  lived  near,  and  knew 
that  I  had  been  sitting  all  day  on  the  hillside,  but  had  only  come  now. 

"I  coomd  to  ax  yees  to  coom  and  hae  a  coop  o  tae  an  a  warm,"  he 
said. 

I  was  in  that  state  of  feeling,  that  I  would  gladly  have  accepted  hos- 
pitality from  a  savage;  so  I  went  with  the  man,  whose  family  for  that 
night  consisted  of  myself,  himself  and  wife,  a  servant  girl,  seven  chil- 
dren and  six  pigs.  The  mistress  of  the  house  was  feeding  the  pigs,  and 
as  each  was  full  of  clabber,  it  was  handed  over  to  the  children  to  hold, 
and  they  had  a  chorus  of  squalling.  The  children  were  soon  all  hud- 
dled off  to  bed  in  their  clothes  and  dirt.    I  had  drunk  a  cup  of  tea,  and 

(360) 


TEACHING  ON  HURRICANE  HILL,  AND  OTHER  LABORS.  36 1 

had  a  warm,  and  was  glad  to  lay  my  weary  head  down  on  a  pallet,  that 
was  made  for  me.     I  was  soon  oblivious  to  things  terrestrial. 

I  was  busy  for  a  whole  week  trying  to  get  the  dirt  out  of  the  hut,  and  fit 
up  a  room  to  sleep  in.  The  people  had  made  great  promises,  but  had  not 
performed  any.  I  papered  with  waste  paper  the  openings  between  the 
slabs,  to  keep  out  daylight  and  moonlight,  and  wind  and  rain,  and  then 
lined  the  walls  with  white  cotton,  and  ceiled  it  with  the  same.  I  put 
a  bright  carpet  on  the  floor,  a  white  cover  on  my  little  iron  bedstead, 
and  the  packing-case,  that  brought  my  goods  and  chattels,  I  turned  on 
its  side,  and  used  as  a  toilet-table  and  wardrobe.  I  dressed  it  with 
pink  and  white  muslin,  a  large  mirror,  and  all  the  et  ccBteras  of  the  toilet- 
table.  With  a  knife,  a  hammer  and  a  few  nails,  I  made  some  book- 
shelves, and  so  decorated  them,  that  the  cabinet  maker's  work  was  not 
seen.  I  draped  everything,  made  the  best  of  everything,  and  so  had 
a  bright,  cozy,  comfortable  room,  and  the  outlook  from  my  little  win- 
dow, when  I  put  my  face  close  to  it,  was  grand  beyond  comparison, 
and  inexpressibly  beautiful. 

On  the  9th  of  August,  I  opened  school  with  twenty-five  scholars. 
They  were  a  very  rough  set  of  children,  but  I  commenced  my  work  by 
prayer,  and  an  exhortation  to  the  children  as  to  their  conduct,  and  I 
got  along  with  them  very  well.  My  hopes  were  high.  Mount  Pleasant 
School  was  the  name  of  the  establishment,  but  I  soon  changed  the 
name  to  Hurricane  Hill.  One  night  a  tempest  raged  around  my  frail 
hut,  and  rocked  it  like  a  cradle.  An  undefined  dread  took  possession 
of  me  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  as  slab  after  slab  fell  in  over  the  desks 
with  a  thundering  noise,  on  the  floor  of  the  school-room,  and  crash 
went  the  windows.  I  thought  the  roof  would  be  blown  off.  As  the 
walls  came  tumbling  down,  I  expected  every  moment  that  I  would  be 
crushed  to  death.  I  then  thought  the  old  hut,  with  its  lone  occupant 
trembling  in  the  blast,  would  be  whirled  into  the  sea.  I  do  not  think 
the  fear  of  death  troubled  me;  but  to  die  a  violent  death,  alone,  and 
not  a  friend  near— I  shrunk  from  the  thought.  The  winds  prevented 
ray  having  a  light,  and  had  I  left  the  unsafe  shelter  of  the  rocking  hut, 
I  would  have  been  caught  in  the  cyclone's  fierrc  embrace,  and  hurled 
over  the  precipice  that  lay  a  few  yards  in  front  of  the  door.  I  com- 
mended myself  to  the  ruler  of  the  storm,  and  lay  down,  and  tried  to  be 
still  till  daylight,  and  an  abatement  of  tlic  storm.  The  darkness  was 
most  profound,  and  in  its  midst  a  bright  light  sprang  up,  that  lit  up 
every  corner  of  the  hut.  I  sjjrang  to  my  feet,  ran  to  the  kitchen,  and 
found  it  full  of  blazing,  crackling  wood.     The  wind  had  blown  what 


362  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

I  had  thought  dead  embers  into  a  blaze,  and  scattered  them,  till  they 
caught  the  kindling-wood,  and  set  it  on  fire.  I  had  some  difficulty  in 
putting  it  out,  and  I  wondered  what  would  come  next.  That  fearful 
night  passed,  but  not  the  tornado.  The  big  boys,  when  they  came  to 
school,  lifted  the  slabs,  but  could  not  fix  them.  The  storm  howled  so, 
that  no  one  could  hear  another  speak.  I  had  to  dismiss  school,  and 
sit  alone,  and  listen  to  the  rushing,  mighty  wind  against  the  rocking 
hut,  and  the  roar  of  the  mighty  breakers,  as  they  dashed  against  the 
rocky  walls  below.  That  awful  tempest  lasted  three  nights  and  two 
days.  The  last  night  the  whole  of  the  front  wall  of  my  hut  was  car- 
ried away.  What  with  want  of  sleep,  and  the  imminent  peril  I  had  been 
in,  and  the  heartlessness  of  the  people,  I  was  perfectly  outdone.  I 
wrote  to  one  of  the  trustees  in  great  distress  to  come  to  my  assistance. 
I  did  not  think  they  would  wait  till  I  called  upon  them,  to  render  it  to 
a  woman  in  peril  in  their  midst.    I  suppose  the  North  American  Indians 

can  match  the  North  of  Ireland  men.     Mr.  G ,  of  the  big  house, 

had  left  me  severely  alone.  I  refused  to  live  at  his  house,  and  he 
would  not  make  the  hut  secure  if  he  could  help  it.  However,  it  was 
made  a  little  more  secure,  and  I  felt  somewhat  reassured. 

"And  all  things,  whatsoever  ye  ask  in  prayer,  believing,  ye  shall 
receive."  These  are  the  words  of  one  who  never  deceived  any  one 
who  trusted  him.  Surely  it  can  not  be  presumption  to  take  Christ  at 
his  word,  and  trust  him  to  fulfill  his  promise  in  his  own  way. 

When  my  hut  was  made  somewhat  secure,  I  found  that  I  had  run 
out  of  all  sorts  of  provisions.  I  had  been  living  on  short  commons 
lately,  but  now  I  was  out  of  everything.  One  day  passed  entirely  with- 
out food,  and  a  second;  and  though  I  was  working  hard,  I  did  not  feel 
much  inconvenience  from  a  two  days'  fast.  I  sat  down  by  my  little  wirw- 
dow,  pressed  my  face  close  to  it,  and  looked  away  over  the  dark,  blue 
Pacific  Ocean,  till  my  mental  vision  rested  on  Chili,  right  opposite  where 
I  sat.  I  boarded  a  steamer,  sailed  up  the  west  coast  of  South  America 
till  I  reached  Darien,  crossed  it  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  went  up  the 
Mississippi,  and  landed  among  my  Kentucky  friends,  and  there  I  sat 
dreaming,  and  wondered  why  the  dinner-bell  did  not  ring.  I  was 
hungry.  The  sun  went  down;  I  was  left  in  darkness  within  and  with- 
out. I  rose  to  my  feet;  there  was  no  one  to  ring  the  bell,  and  no  bell 
to  ring,  and  no  dinner  to  cause  a  call  to  come.  I  staggered  to  the 
kitchen  to  kindle  a  fire  to  pi-epare  some  tea,  but  it  just  occurred  to  me 
that  I  had  nothing  to  prepare.  I  sat  down  on  a  box,  and  cried  as  it 
my  heart  would  break,  to  think  of  the  oceans  and  seas  that  separated 


TEACHING  ON  HURRICANE  HILL,  AND  OTHER  LABORS.  363 

me  from  those  I  loved,  and  here  to  be  sitting  in  a  dark  hut  on  a  moun- 
tain-side alone,  and  hungry,  and  nothing  to  eat,  and  not  knowing  where 
to  get  any;  but  crying  would  not  bring  food.  Who  feeds  the  ravens 
and  the  sparrows?  "Whatsoever  ye  ask  in  prayer,  believing,  ye 
shall  receive."  Why  did  I  not  think  of  this  before.  I  knelt  down 
where  I  was,  and  asked  God  to  send  me  food,  for  I  did  not  know 
where  to  buy  it.  I  went  to  my  Bible,  and  read,  and  then  lay  down, 
believing  the  promise  as  firmly  as  I  could.  I  awoke  the  next  morning 
refreshed  by  a  good  sleep,  feeling  very  childlike,  and  as  I  had  no  break- 
fast to  prepare,  I  was  soon  ready  for  school.  I  knelt  down  again,  ask- 
ing for  what  I  needed,  nothing  doubting.  A  rap-tap  at  the  kitchen- 
door;  a  little  girl  stood  there  with  something  wrapped  in  a  towel. 

"Please,  ma-am,  mother  says  will  you  accept  of  this  little  loaf  of 
bread  ?  We  got  in  some  new  flour,  and  mother  said  she  thought  you 
would  like  it,  and  she  sent  this  to  you." 

"Thank  you,  Maria,  and  thank  your  mother  for  her  thoughtful  kind- 
ness.    I  will  surely  accept  of  it;"  and  I  thanked  God  also. 

Before  I  had  done  speaking,  two  more  girls  presented  themselves, 
one  with  two  bottles  of  fresh  new  milk,  the  other  with  a  roll  of  beauti- 
ful fresh  butter.  Then  another  came  with  a  few  ribs  of  a  young  pig 
nicely  roasted. 

"Mother  says  she  roasted  this  for  you.  We  killed  it  yesterday,  and 
she  hopes  you  will  like  it." 

My  heart  filled  to  overflowing  with  gratitude  to  God  for  his  care  of 
me.  I  could  not  eat,  but  I  drank  of  the  new  milk,  and  was  satisfied. 
I  tasted  the  dainty  bit  of  pig;  it  was  very  fresh,  and  I  had  no  salt. 
Small  as  the  request  might  seem,  I  asked  for  salt,  and  it  was  sent. 
That  day  I  had  a  roasted  fowl,  some  eggs,  and  various  other  articles 
of  food  sent  to  me.  I  had  more  than  a  week's  provision  on  hand. 
Persons  whom  I  had  never  seen,  and  who  did  not  know  my  wants, 
sent  me  the  kind  of  food  I  needed,  and  when  I  needed  it.  Who  will 
venture  to  say  that  it  was  accidental,  that  it  was  all  chance?  No;  it 
was  a  direct  and  special  answer  to  prayer,  brought  about  in  a  natural 
way,  no  miracle  required.  My  school  increased  to  forty  in  number, 
all  willing  to  learn,  and  imjjroving  fast. 

I  wrote  a  long  letter  to  Mrs.  Keene,  reminding  her  of  the  conver- 
sation we  had  in  her  son's  sick-room,  saying  that  in  about  two  years  I 
would  be  doing  mission  work  among  the  mountain  children,  and 
"Oh,  so  I  am,  not  among  Kentucky  mountains,  where  I  could  reach 
friends  in  a  few  hours,  but  away  half  round  the  globe  from  them.    But 


364  1'HE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNLST  LIFE. 

God's  vineyard  is  wide  as  the  world,  and  children  are  to  be  found 
everywhere." 

Hurricane  Hill  was  a  hill  of  storms.  I  was  exposed  to  every  wind 
that  blew,  but  I  became  accustomed  to  the  howling  and  raging  and 
roaring  sounds  around  me ;  they  became  like  music  to  me  when  they 
kept  within  bounds.  I  was  taken  suddenly  ill  one  day,  and  twice  I 
nearly  fainted  in  the  school-room.  I  told  the  children  to  do  their 
work  as  well  as  they  could  and  go  home,  for  I  had  to  lie  down.  And 
there  I  lay  as  cold  as  death,  and  sick  and  faint,  not  able  to  get  up  to 
kindle  a  fire  to  get  a  cup  of  warm  tea  to  put  some  heat  in  me.  I  had 
a  severe  attack  of  dysentery,  and  lay  unable  to  undress  myself  for  two 
nights.  The  children  all  went  away  on  Friday,  not  knowing  that  I 
was  so  ill.  I  was  so  very  ill  I  thought  I  was  dying  alone,  without  a 
friendly  voice  to  cheer  me,  or  a  kind  hand  to  smooth  my  pillow,  or 
to  moisten  my  lips,  or  cool  my  burning  brow.  Though  I  lay  sick 
and  helpless  and,  humanly  speaking,  alone,  yet  God  did  not  forsake 
me,  or  give  me  over  to  troubled  thoughts.  I  was  happy  in  my  sick- 
ness and  solitude;  I  was  willing  to  await  God's  will  concerning  me, 
whether  he  would  lead  me  through  the  dark  valley,  or  bring  me  back 
to  life  and  health.  Had  I  drunk  a  cup  of  warm  tea,  or  a  cup  of  cold 
water,  while  I  lay  in  such  dreadful  pain,  I  would  have  attributed  my 
recovery  to  one  or  the  other,  but  I  took  nothing  at  all  from  the  time  I 
lay  down  till  I  arose,  free  from  sickness,  though  weak.  So  to  a  kind 
heavenly  Father  I  render  thanks  for  my  preservation. 

On  the  25th  of  October,  1858,  I  took  up  my  Bible  and  read  as 
usual ;  but  I  put  it  down  to  think  of  all  I  had  seen  and  suffered  since 
that  day  one  year  previous.  My  journal  says,  "This  day  one  year  ago  I 
was  at  Sandy  Hook  sailing  out  from  New  York."  I  asked  myself 
whether  through  all  my  trials  I  had  seen  the  hand  of  God,  or  were  my 
troubles  from  the  earth?  Whether  I  had  done  good  or  evil?  Whether 
I  had  suffered  as  a  true  Christian?  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
I  had  suffered  much;  but  why  I  suffered  I  knew  not.  God's  ways 
are  not  our  ways.  I  can  not  solve  the  dark  providences  which  are 
trying  me  so  sorely.  There  are  moments  when  the  spirit  shrinks 
within  itself,  as  the  mildew  of  disappointment  settles  heavily  upon  it, 
withering  all  its  joys,  and  blasting  in  the  bud  all  its  fondest  anticipa- 
tions. "The  wail  of  sadness  swells  in  every  passing  gale,  drowning 
the  joyous  melody  of  life's  sunniest  song  in  its  notes  of  woe." 

On  a  Sunday  morning  in  November  I  was  sittmg  at  my  little  win- 
dow  writing,  and  looking  out,  and   drinking  deep   of  the   soothing 


TEACHING  ON  HURRICANE  HILL,   AND  OTHER  LABORS.  365 

draught  that  nature  was  holding  out  for  me,  when  all  at  once  a  change 
came  over  the  scene.  The  heavens  grew  dark,  and  forth  flashed  the 
forked  lightning  in  all  its  terrific  grandeur.  Peal  after  peal  of  tliunder 
burst  overhead,  like  the  explosion  of  ten  thousand  pieces  of  artillery.  It 
did  not  roll  and  rumble,  it  exploded  with  a  mighty  force.  One  tremen- 
dous burst,  that  seemed  to  split  the  mountain,  made  me  spring  from  my 
seat.  The  ocean,  that  had  but  a  few  minutes  before  lain  calm  as  a  sleep- 
ing child,  was  now  hidden  from  my  sight — was  lashed  to  fury  by  the  an- 
gry winds,  and  was  roaring  and  dashing  and  breaking  on  the  cliffs  with 
a  tremendous  noise.  The  large  hail  fell  in  such  quantity  and  force  as  to 
threaten  destruction  to  the  roof  of  the  hut.  The  water  was  rushino- 
down  the  hillside  in  a  broad  torrent,  flooding  my  frail  tenement.  But 
the  darkness  was  more  terrible.  The  heavens  and  earth  and  sea  were 
shaken;  the  destruction  of  all  creation  seemed  inevitable.  The  blue 
forked  lightning,  darting  hither  and  thither  through  the  gloom,  bafiled 
the  eye  to  follow  its  motions.  The  depression  of  the  earth  or  dry 
gulf  which  lay  in  front  of  the  hut  between  it  and  the  ocean  was  filled 
with  darkness,  and  the  tall  palm-trees,  which  grew  away  down  at  the 
bottom,  were  hidden  by  the  black  veil,  athwart  which  the  lightning 
flew  like  fiery  serpents.  This  was  a  new  and  awful  sight.  My  senses 
fairly  reeled  beneath  the  elemental  strife.  I  could  hear  and  feel,  but 
could  not  see  anything  but  the  lightning,  as  it  cut  its  way  through  the 
darkness.  How  awful,  how  grand  to  be  alone  with  God  in  such  an 
hour.  I  felt  nearer  to  him  who  "plants  his  footsteps  in  the  sea  and 
rides  upon  the  storm."  "'Tis  I;  be  not  atraid,"  said  the  still,  small 
voice,  and  I  was  not  afraid.  I  felt  as  if  I  could  have  spent  all  my 
days  alone  with  God  on  that  mountain,  if  I  would  not  get  hungry  and 
iMck.  Still  my  situation  and  manner  of  life  were  not  desirable.  The 
hurricanes  that  raged  around  this  hill  exposed  me  to  continual  danger. 
They  came  up  suddenly  and  from  all  points  of  the  compass.  I  was 
a'lways  glad  to  see  the  children  in  the  morning;  I  never  saw  any  one 
else.  I  was  now  in  the  second  quarter  of  my  school.  I  liad  not  re- 
ceived any  visitors,  and  had  never  in  the  time  been  six  yards  from  ihe 
hut-doors.  My  mornings  were  spent  in  reading  and  writing,  and  pre- 
paring  and  eating  my  simple  breakfast.  From  eiglit  to  four  o'clock  in 
school,  with  a  short  recess;  then  I  prepared  my  evening  meal,  and  sat 
down  to  read  the  Bible  till  retiring  time.  I  had  read  the  Bii)le  through 
in  the  last  three  months.  I  had  no  desire  to  make  acquaintances.  I 
felt  as  if  I  were  resting  in  a  caravansary  for  a  short  time,  and  wer« 
then  to  leave  for  a  more  congenial  home. 


366  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

Mr.  A ,  the  Episcopal  minister,  called  at  the  school  one  day.    I 

thought  he  wished  to  examine  the  scholars,  but  not  so;  his  mission 
was  to  abuse  me — not  a  very  clerical  one.  At  Kiama  he  had  heard 
that  I  was  a  Baptist,  and  had  been  trying  to  introduce  a  Baptist  Bible 
and  Baptist  books;  that  I  had  opened  a  school  for  Episcopal  children 
and  was  perverting  them  from  the  true  church,  and  he  wished  to  know 
how  I  had  dared  to  do  these  things?  The  little  man  swelled  with  his 
own  importance.  I  was  mute. with  astonishment  at  his  tirade.  He 
stopped  to  breathe,  and  demanded  an  answer  to  his  question. 

"In  the  first  place,"  I  said,  "I  should  like  to  know  who  it  is  who 
dares  to  come  to  my  school-room  and,  with  such  pomposity  and  im- 
pertinence, dares  to  question  me  in  such  fashion;  certainly  no  gentle- 
man would  do  this  in  the  presence  of  children." 

The  little  man  colored  scarlet.  He  was  known  to  the  children, 
though  not  to  me.     He  toned  down  considerably  as  he  said : 

"I  am  the  Rev.  Mr.  A of  the  Episcopal  Church,  Kiama." 

"Oh!"  I  said,  "I  would  not  have  thought  it.  I  had  believed  the 
clergy  of  that  church  were  gentlemen.  Now  that  I  know  who  you 
are  I  do  not  think  you  have  the  least  right  whatever  to  come  to  my 
school-room  to  abuse  or  catechise  me ;  nor  do  I  consider  myself  bound 
to  answer  your  rude  questions.  As  I  have  my  duties  to  attend  to  I 
wish  you  a  good  day." 

I  went  on  with  my  work  and  the  reverend  gentleman  left.  I  wished 
the  children  to  know  that  I  was  mistress  of  the  school  and  that  I  had 
no  master. 

Of  all  living  things  snakes  are  the  most  hateful  and  frightful.  The 
children  told  me  to  always  look  every  evening  for  snakes  in  the  house 
before  sundown,  for  sometimes  they  crawled  into  the  houses  in  the 
daytime,  but  they  never  traveled  after  sundown.  I  did  this  most  dili- 
gently every  evening,  but  had  not  seen  any  inside,  though  the  hillside 
was  infested  with  the  most  deadly  kind.  One  night  I  had  searched 
every  corner  of  the  house  and  was  satisfied  with  my  hunt ;  nothing 
could  be  seen  to  disturb  my  peace.  I  felt  at  peace  with  all  the 
world,  myself  and  God.  I  felt  more  secure  that  night  than  ever  I  had 
before.  I  placed  my  open  Bible  on  the  table  ready  to  sit  down  to  my 
evening's  reading,  and  went  to  the  kitchen  to  light  my  candle,  and  be- 
fore barricading  myself  up  for  the  night,  by  putting  a  little  bit  of  stick 
in  a  staple,  I  looked  out  and  around  upon  a  scene  as  calm  as  a  poet's 
dream,  and  beautiful  beyond  compare.  I  looked  up,  and  star  after 
star  lit  up  the  blue  vault.     I  pierced  the  heavens  and  saw  him,  my 


TEACHING  ON  HURRICANE  HILL,  AND  OTHER  LABORS.  367 

Savior,  seated  on  the  great  white  throne.  I  clasped  my  hands  and 
raised  them  in  adoration,  and  with  a  heart  full  of  gratitude  I  thanked 
him  for  his  protecting  care  of  a  poor  insignificant  creature,  who  stood 
on  his  footstool  before  the  throne  of  the  universe  on  which  he  sat.  I 
felt  happy  and  secure.  I  stood  on  tiptoe  and  looked  far  over  the 
grass,  but  saw  nothing  to  frighten  me,  and  exclaimed, 

"Not  even  a  snake  to  trouble  me!" 

As  my  heels  came  down  upon  the  floor  I  felt  something  soft  under 
one  heel.  I  put  my  dress  one  side  and  looked,  but  saw  nothing.  I 
gritted  my  teeth,  and  said, 

"What  imagination  can  do!" 

I  fastened  my  door,  took  up  my  candle,  went  into  my  room,  ana 
was  about  to  sit  down,  when  I  went  back  to  the  kitchen  to  get  a  cup 
of  water  to  drink,  a  very  unusual  thing,  for  I  hardly  ever  was  thirsty. 
I  had  the  light  in  one  hand,  the  cup  in  the  other,  and  turned  to  leave 
the  kitchen,  when  to  my  great  horror  I  saw  an  object  that  fairly  para- 
lyzed me.  The  sun  had  been  down  some  time,  but  there  on  the  kitchen- 
floor  wriggled  a  huge  and  hideous  lead-colored  snake,  one  of  the  most 
deadly  kind.  I  did  not  scream  or  move,  and  how  I  got  the  cup  and 
candlestick  out  of  my  hands  I  do  not  know.  The  first  thing  I  knew 
I  was  bending  over  the  poisonous  reptile,  with  my  hands  on  my  knees, 
holding  my  dress  so  as  to  cover  my  feet  from  the  deadly  fangs.  The 
loathsome  creature  had  thrown  itself  backward  at  me,  and  was  wrig- 
gling and  coiling  and  flapping  around  me  most  furiously.  How  my  face 
and  hands,  which  were  exposed,  escaped  the  fatal  bite  I  can  not  tell.  I 
could  not  escape  from  the  coils  of  the  reptile.  If  I  moved  in  any  direc- 
tion I  would  have  to  step  over  it,  so  I  had  to  be  perfectly  still  while  he 
spent  his  mad  fury,  twisting  round  me  and  striking  my  dress  with  his  head 
and  tail;  so  quick  were  his  movements  I  could  not  tell  which  was  which. 
I  had  no  feeling  but  that  of  being  petrified  by  astonishment.  After 
a  while,  the  time  seemed  long,  I  saw  about  a  foot  of  space  between  the 
glittering  coils  and  my  skirts.  Involuntarily  I  straightened  up,  threw 
back  my  head  and  gave  one  of  the  most  unearthly  screams  I  ever 
heard  from  a  human  throat.  I  saw  the  reptile  sj)ring  some  distance 
from  the  floor  and  then  disappear.  I  ran  Ixackward  into  my  room 
and  through  the  large  school-room  and  out  on  the  hillside,  and  screamed 
as  loud  as  I  was  able,  and  kejjt  on  screaming,  witliout  cessation  and 
without  the  power  to  stop.  When  I  was  in  the  coils  of  the  reptile  I 
was  self-possessed,  but  now  the  danger  was  over,  my  pent  up  feelings 


368  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

gave  way  and  I  could  do  nothing  but  scream.  I  exhausted  my  strength 
ere  help  came.     At  last  a  man  came  and  said: 

"Why,  mum,  is't  yees  that's  screamin?" 

I  made  no  other  answer  than  "A  snake,  a  snake!" 

He  took  a  large  stick  in  his  hand,  and  went  cautiously  into  the  hut, 
hunted  everywhere,  came  out,  and  said : 

"Hees  gone  share,  no  snake  bees  thar,  noo." 

I  was  trembling  all  over,  and  quite  hoarse,  and  nearly  exhausted, 
and  the  man  was  going  to  leave  me;  but  I  caught  him  by  the  arm,  and 
told  him  to  take  me  to  his  house,  for  I  was  afraid  to  sleep  in  the  hut 
again.  I  told  him  to  put  out  the  candle;  but  it  had  burned  into  the 
socket.  I  had  lit  a  fresh  candle  in  the  evening,  so  the.  night  was  far 
spent  ere  it  burned  out.  He  shut  the  door,  but  it  had  no  fastenings. 
I  held  to  the  man's  coat-sleeve  till  I  reached  his  house.  I  asked  him 
why  he  did  not  come  to  my  assistance  sooner,  if  he  heard  my  cries. 
He  said  he  heard  cries,  but  they  were  so  "unhuman,"  that  he  did  not 
think  they  were  human,  and  they  all  went  to  bed.  But  his  wife  could 
not  rest;  she  said  somebody  wanted  help,  and  asked  her  husband  to 
get  up,  and  go  toward  the  hut  and  listen,  and  the  result  was  finding 
me  more  frightened  than  hurt.  The  woman,  a  kind-hearted  creature, 
spread  clean  sheets  on  a  dirty  sofa,  and  I  lay  down,  but  not  to  sleep. 
I  asked  to  have  the  candle  left  burning.  I  then  lay  watching  and 
counting  the  huge  tarantulas,  as  they  crawled  over  the  walls  Avith  their 
long  legs,  till  daylight. 

All  my  patrons,  far  and  near,  sent  me  invitations  to  come  and  stay 
with  them  a  night.  This,  though  as  repulsive  to  my  feelings  as  had 
been  the  suggestion  of  one  of  the  men,  "Shure  the  lady  can't  stay  here 
her  lone,"  I  had  a  night's  lodging  here,  and  one  there;  one  night,  per- 
haps, three  miles  on  this  side  of  the  hut,  the  next  night  four  miles  on 
the  other.  I  cried,  "Oh,  for  a  ship  to  carry  me  back  to  my  friends 
who  love  me,  and  who  are  loved  by  me.  If  it  be  God's  will  that  I 
stay  here,  I  will  try  to  submit,  but  I  am  very  much  exposed."  "Watch 
and  pray."  Sometimes  when  we  feel  most  secure,  we  are  in  the  great- 
est peril.     I  prayed  to  God  to  protect  me  from  unseen  dangers. 

One  afternoon  I  was  sitting  at  my  littlfe  window  ruminating.  I  did  wish 
the  people  would  pay  me  what  they  had  promised  to  pay  me,  that  I 
might  be  ready  at  any  moment  to  leave,  when  I  heard  of  a  ship  going 
to  America.  A  rap  was  heard  at  the  door,  a  very  unusual  occurrence. 
I  opened  it,  and  was  truly  glad  to  see  the  kind,  smiling  face  of  Mr. 
G .     I  told  him  what  I  had  been  thinking  about.     I  asked  if  he 


TEACHING  ON  HURRICANE  HILL,  AND  OTHER  LABORS.  369 

would  collect  my  money  from  his  tenants,  as  he  had  promised  to  do; 
they  would  pay  him  more  readily  than  they  would  me.  I  told  him  I 
needed  the  money  to  pay  my  way.  I  told  him  I  had  been  turned  out 
of  the  hut  without  ceremony  by  a  huge  snake.  I  had  to  sleep  in  the 
peoples'  houses,  and  I  did  not  like  their  manner  of  life  any  more  than 
I  did  my  own,  and  I  wished  to  leave  the  district  the  first  opportunity. 

"You  know  I  am  your  friend,"  Mr.  G said. 

"I  hope  so,"  I  said. 

"Well,  I  will  prove  it  by  my  actions,  that  I  am  the  best  friend  you 
ever  had." 

"Oh,  thank  you  for  your  kind  expressions,  and  while  I  am  compelled 
to  stay  here,  I  shall  be  faithful  to  my  young  charge.  I  shall  plant  the 
good  seed  in  their  hearts,  with  the  hope  that  it  will  bear  fruit  by  and  by." 

The  old  man  said  many  kind  things.  He  said  I  was  delicate  look- 
ing, and  could  not  stand  the  hardships  and  fatigue  of  the  life  I  was  ex- 
posed to.  Good  old  man,  I  thought,  he  will  get  my  money  from  his 
tenants  without  any  trouble,  and  help  me  to  get  away  from  the  hard- 
ships. I  was  not  prepared  for  the  manner  in  which  he  proposed  to  do  this. 
I  was  sitting  close  to  the  window,  where  I  could  see,  and  be  seen  by, 

every  passer-by,  my  arm  on  the  table.     Mr.  G brought  his  chair 

close  to  the  table,  and  put  his  hand  on  mine,  which  I  gently  drew  away. 

"I  have  come,"  said  he,  "to  make  a  proposal  to  you.  You  know  I 
have  taken  a  great  interest  in  you  since  I  saw  you  first.  In  fact,  you 
are  so  interesting,  that  I  have  loved  you  ever  since  you  came  here." 

"I  am  glad  to  have  some  one  to  have  an  interest  in  me,  though  I  am  not 
at  all  interesting.    But  what  do  you  propose?"  I  asked,  in  all  simplicity. 

"Well,  it  is  that  you  give  up  teaching  in  this  place,  and  I  shall  plai'e 
you  in  an  elegant  home,  where  you  shall  be  waited  upon,  and  have 
everything  your  heart  can  desire,  and  you  may  be  very  happy." 

"But  what  shall  be  my  employment?  For  I  must  earn  money  to 
carry  me  back  to  my  friends." 

"You  shall  have  plenty  of  money,  more  than  you  can  use,  if  you 
will  be  guided  by  me." 

"What  do  you  wish  me  to  do?"  I  asked. 

"In  the  first  place,  I  wish  to  make  you  my  wife." 

"Wife!"  I  exclaimed.      "You  have  a  wife,  a  dear,  good  old  lady." 

"Yes,  I  have;  but  you  know  that  she  is  a  great  deal  older  than  1  am, 
and  in  the  course  of  nature  she  can  not  live  long,  and  if  you  will  allow 
me  to  place  you  in  a  beautiful  home,  surrounded  by  luxury,  and  there 
24 


370  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

wait  till  1  am  free,  I  will  make  you  my  bride,  and  all  I  require  is  that 
you  will  allow  me  to  visit  you  occasionally." 

I  was  certainly  not  prepared  for  this.  I  was  slow  to  apprehend. 
But  when  the  full  force  of  the  truth  flashed  across  my  mind,  I  bowed 
my  head  in  very  shame,  that  any  one  should  speak  to  me  so.  My 
sensibilities  were  wounded.  I  clasped  my  hands,  and  mentally  ex- 
claimed:   "Merciful  Father,  what  have  I  done  to  deserve  this?"     Mr. 

G i)ut  his  hand  on  my  bowed  head  and  spoke.     I  sprang  to  my 

feet  as  if  an  adder  had  bitten  me.  I  was  erect  and  firm  now,  my  face 
on  fire.     I  said,  as  calmly  as  I  could: 

"Mr.  G ,  will  you  tell  me,  have  ever  I,  in  word,  or  look,  or  act, 

done  anything  that  would  prompt  you  to  thus  insult  me?" 

"No,  nothing;  but  I  have  loved  you  passionately  from  the  first  day 
I  saw  you.    You  have  interested  me  more  than  any  woman  I  ever  saw." 

"Silence,  you  base,  crawling  reptile,  stinging  and  poisonous!"  I  ex- 
claimed, in  a  perfect  tempest  of  indignation.  '  'Do  you  think  to  destroy 
the  honor  of  a  virtuous  woman  by  the  poison  of  your  flatteries?  Your 
attempt  is  as  feeble  as  it  is  foul.  The  deadly  venom  of  the  serpent  lies 
under  your  tongue,  while  your  outward  seeming  is  soft  and  smooth 
like  his  shmy  skin.  Away  from  this  hut !  leave  it  instantly.  My  ears 
have  been  polluted  by  your  speech;  my  eyes  are  offended  by  your 
presence.  Leave  the  hut;  do  not  attempt  to  speak  to  me,  or  I  shall 
expose  you  to  the  scorn  and  contempt  of  all,  to  whom  I  shall  make 
known  your  dastardly  conduct." 

"Pray,"  said  the  craven  coward,  "do  not  expose  me;  I  did  not 
mean  anything  by  what  I  said,  I  only  meant  to  try  you.  Please  don't 
expose  me." 

"Try  me?  How  mean,  selfish  and  cruel,  to  come  to  me,  when  I  was 
in  distress,  to  try  me.  I  have  had  trials  enough  since  I  came  to  your 
district,  without  your  coming  in  the  hypocritical  guise  of  a  friend  to  in- 
sult me.  You  ask  me  not  to  expose  you.  Mean,  cowardly  man,  you 
y/ish  to  conceal  your  wickedness  from  your  daughters,  your  son,  your 
wife,  and  from  your  fellow-men,  lest  they  would  despise  you  as  I  do. 
Remember,  God  will  take  you  to  an  account  for  all  this.  Now  there 
is  only  one  condition  on  which  your  perfidy  shall  be  kept  safe  in  the 
dark  -chambers  of  silence,  and  that  is,  that  you  never  speak  to  me 
again,  unless  I  speak  to  you.  And  now  I  look  upon  you  as  a  more 
dangerous  reptile  than  the  one  that  drove  me  from  the  shelter  of  this 
poor  huL  You  ask  my  forgiveness;  ask  God's.  You  ask  me  to  visit 
-Mrs.  G ,  but  not  to  let  her  know  what  you  have  said  to  me.     I 


TEACHING  ON  HURRICANE  HILL,   AND  OTHER  LABORS.  371 

will  avoid  your  house  as  if  a  pestilence  was  there.  Now  leave,  for  I 
inust  seek  a  lodging  ere  the  sun  sets." 

He  left.  The  unprincipled  and  impure  can  have  no  idea  of  virtue 
or  delicacy  being  other  than  a  cloak,  to  be  thrown  off  at  will,  and, 
therefore,  to  reason  with  such  minds  is  to  speak  to  the  winds.  A  liber- 
tine heart  is  the  same  in  all  ages  and  in  all  places. 

I  dreamed  a  dream  one  night,  that  was  not  all  a  dream.     \V 

rode  up  to  the  school-house  one  day,  and  said  his  father  had  gone  from 
home  to  spend  several  days,  and  he  was  going  to  Sydney  to  spend  a 

week,  and  his  mother  asked  me,  as  a  great  favor,  to  go  down  to  O 

R ,  and  stay  with  her  at  night,  as  she  would  be  perfectly  alone. 

"Certainly,  I  will  go  and  stay  with  her,"  I  said. 

She  occupied  the  room  occupied  by  me  when  I  was  their  guest,  and 
I  preferred  to  have  my  bed  made  on  the  sofa  at  the  outside  of  her 
door,  rather  than  go  to  another  part  of  the  house.  We  were  lying  close 
to  each  other,  only  the  wall  between  us,  and  when  we  lay  down,  we 
chatted  till  we  were  sleepy;  then  she  shut  her  door,  and  we  both  slept. 
I  dreamed  that  I  was  being  lifted  up  and  carried  away.  I  either  awoke, 
and  gave  a  cry,  or  gave  a  cry  and  awoke,  I  know  not  which.  I  was 
quickly  borne  back  to  the  sofa  and  laid  down.  The  parlor  was  pitchy 
dark.  I  rose,  and  leaned  on  my  elbow,  and  peered  into  the  darkness; 
just  then  a  little  blue  flame  flickered  up  from  the  embers,  and  gleamed 
upon  a  tall  figure  in  a  dressing  gown  just  passing  out  of  the  doorway. 
Mrs.  G ,  having  heard  my  cry,  piped  out: 

"Honey,  are  you  dreaming?" 

"I  do  not  know,"  I  said,  and  we  lapsed  into  silence. 

I  slept  no  more  that  night.     At  the  breakfast-table  I  was  greatly 

surprised  to  see  Mr.  G .     I  was,  beyond  measure,  puzzled  to  know 

whether  I  had  had  a  real  or  an  imaginary  dream,  or  experience,  or 

whether  Mr.  G was  a  somnambulist.     I  could  make  out  nothing 

by  observation,  and  I  asked  no  questions.  My  eyes  were  opened  now, 
wide  open.  I  did  not  see  things  in  light  of  a  pale-blue,  flickering  flame, 
but  clearly  in  the  broad,  bright  sunlight. 

This  man  of  vast  wealth  and  influence  I  had  called  by  every  bad 
name  my  insulted  nature  and  wounded  pride  could  think  of;  I  had 
threatened  to  expose  him;  but  on  reflection  I  feared  that  he  might  do 
me  injury  by  villainous  falsehoods.  1  had  no  resource  but  to  do  my 
duty,  and  trust  to  God  for  safe-keeping.  Aud  who  shall  say  that  the 
God  in  whom  I  trusted  had  not  thus  far  jjrotected  me  from  unseen 
dangers?     Otherwise,  what  influenced  me  to  refuse  to  live  at  Omega 


37^ 


THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 


Retreat  when  I  first  opened  school?  Nothing  apparent;  yet  I  was 
warned,  and  I  heeded  the  warnmg. 

On  comuig  to  school  one  morning  through  a  field  that  opened  to  the 

pike,  when  I  reached  the  gate,  there,  like  a  sentinel,  stood  Mr.  G > 

with  the  gate-latch  in  his  hand.  I  looked  round  for  another  outlet. 
Mr.  G understood  my  movement,  and  said  : 

"This  is  the  only  way.'' 

"Allow  me  to  pass  then,"  I  said. 

"Not  yet,"  said  he.  "I  have  watched  for  you,  and  waited  for  an 
opportunity  to  speak  to  you,  though  you  have  forbidden  me  to  do  so." 

"l.etme  pass,"  I  said;   "I  do  not  wish  to  listen  to  you." 

"You  must  hear  me  ere  I  let  you  through.  I  am  exceedingly  sorry 
for  speaking  to  you  as  I  did  at  the  school-house.  I  hope  you  will  for- 
give me;  I  really  was  only  trying  you." 

I  told  him  it  was  cruel  sport  to  indulge  in,  and  might  have  entailed 
ruin  and  perdition  on  me.  He  said  he  would  not  injure  a  hair  of  my 
head;  he  really  did  love  and  respect  me  as  if  I  were  his  own  daughter, 
and  nothing  would  give  hirh  more  pleasure  than  to  have  me  for  a 
daughter,  if  I  would  only  marry  W . 

"You  are  trying  me  now,  no  doubt,  but  I  have  no  desire  to  be  linked 
to  your  family  in  any  way." 

"Why  do   you  shun  W ;    you  know  he   is  fond  of  you;  his 

mother  and  myself  would  love  you  as  our  own  daughter,  and  all  the 

young  women  of  the  district  think  W a  fine  match.    I  had  thought 

you  put  on  shy  airs  for  a  selfish  purpose,  but  now  I  think  your  mind 
is  as  pure  as  an  angel's." 

"I  have  always  been  treated  with  civility  by  your  son,  and  to  keep 
him  civil  I  have  kept  him  at  a  distance ;  for  he  is  coarse,  vain  and 
vulgar;  perhaps  were  I  better  acquainted  with  him  I  might  find  char- 
acteristics in  him  inherited  from  you,  which  would  make  me  despise 
him." 

"Well,  well;  you  are  very  hard  on  us,  but  I  hope  you  will  feel 
better  before  long.     Meantime,  forgive  me  for  the  injury  I  did  you." 

"I  have  nothing  to  forgive,  as  you  did  not  succeed  in  your  attempt 
to  injure  me.  You  are  an  old  man,  and  you  ought  to  repent  of  your 
sins,  and  ask  God  to  forgive  you." 

"Oh,  you  are  very  unforgiving,"  he  said,  and  opened  the  gate  for 
me  to  pass  through. 

I  find  a  note  in  my  journal,  which  says:  "January  5,  1859.  An- 
other year  has  rolled  round  into  the  eternity  past.     How  have  I  spent 


TEACHING  ON  HURRICANE  HILL,  AND  OTHER  LABORS.  373 

it?  God  knows  what  I  have  gone  through.  I  have  been  in  the 
furnace,  but  if  the  Refiner  has  been  by  the  furnace  and  thrown  out  the 
dross  the  gold  will  be  all  the  brighter.  Father,  strengthen  my  faith. 
Whether  my  days  be  many  or  few,  let  them  all  be  spent  in  thy  vine- 
yard, and  in  my  Master's  cause.  Since  Christmas  I  have  walked 
many  a  weary  mile  to  and  from  my  hut,  through  the  intense  heat  of  a 
summer's  sun,  round  a  rugged  road,  winding  round  the  base  of  a 
mountain  overlooking  the  sea." 

"The  sun  shall  not  smite  thee  by  day  nor  the  moon  by  night," 
often  sustained  me  in  my  long,  hot  walks,  with  my  bundle  of 
specimens  of  the  new  translation  under  my  arm,  going  from  house 
to  house,  miles  apart,  to  introduce  it,  and  interest  the  people  in 
it,  independent  of  their  ministers.  Sometimes  I  would  be  caught 
in  one  of  the  fearful  thunder  storms  peculiar  to  that  district,  and, 
drenched  to  the  skin,  would  trudge  to  the  first  house  and  get  a 
litde  dry,  and  go  on  my  way.  I  was  plodding  along  the  road  one  day, 
with  my  books  under  my  arms  as  usual,  admiring  everything  I  saw. 
The  scenery  was  magnificent.  I  was  suddenly  brought  to  a  halt  by  a 
herd  of  wild  cattle  which  unexpectedly  appeared.  They  looked  at  me, 
and  I  looked  at  them,  and  we  all  stood  still.  To  advance  was  impos- 
sible, and  I  did  not  wish  to  recede.  The  bulls  bellowed  as  if  they 
were  ready  for  an  attack;  but  they  did  not  move,  and  I  kept  my 
ground.  We  watched  each  other  very  closely  for  over  half  an  hour, 
as  it  seemed  to  me,  when  some  of  them  got  tired  looking  and  began 
very  deliberately  to  walk  toward  me,  bellowing  with  all  their  might. 
I  turned  to  run,  when  I  saw  a  horseman  riding  full  tilt  toward  me. 
He  took  me  through  and  past  them  with  some  difficulty.  I  looked 
upon  this  as  a  providential  escape. 

This  rugged  but  beautiful  hill  country  is  not  fit  for  cultivation,  only 
here  and  there  a  spot.  When  the  land  is  cleared  and  grass  sown,  no 
more  labor  is  needed;  but  thousands  of  cattle  feed  and  fatten  without 
any  trouble.  The  food  is  not  garnered  in  winter;  for  then  the  grass  is 
greenest.  The  district  is  well  suited  for  dairy  farms,  and  the  farmers 
grow  rich  very  soon. 

I  spent  all  my  holidays  in  the  interests  of  the  American  Bible  Union, 
foot  sore  and  weary  often,  but  nothing  daunted.  As  long  as  I  could 
keep  the  highway  I  could  do  very  well;  but  when  I  had  to  walk  up- 
hill and  down;  cross  creeks  without  bridges,  gathering  stones  to  make 
a  footway  across;  had  to  climb  high  fences  and  go  through  fields  of 
wild  and  tame  cattle,  and  wade  through  undrained  swamp-ground,  full 


374  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

of  everything  disagreeable  if  not  deadly,  I  felt  very  tired.  One  les- 
son among  many  others  that  I  learned  in  the  holidays  was,  that  in  the 
hearts  and  homes  of  the  humble  poor  there  was  more  kindness, 
more  hospitality  and  more  sympathy  than  among  the  rich.  One  day 
i  had  taken  a  long  and  wearisome  walk  to  the  house  of  a  nabob,  and 
was  unsuccessful  in  my  endeavors  to  interest  him  in  the  good  work. 
I  stopped  at  the  house  of  one  of  my  patrons  to  rest;  I  had  walked 
eight  or  ten  miles.     The  mistress  saw  me  looking  very  tired,  and  she 

asked  me  if  Mr.  H 's  folks  had  given  me  anything  to  eat  after  my 

long  walk. 

"No,  they  had  not,"  I  said. 

"Och,  och,  but  yees  must  be  starvin." 

"No,"  I  said,  "I  am  only  tired,  though  I  have  eaten  nothing  all 
day." 

She  prepared  a  nice  meal  for  me;  but  I  was  too  tired  to  eat  or  go 
farther  that  night.     While  she  was  waiting  on  me  she  would  exclaim, 

"Och,  och,  but  thim  big  folks  bees  thoughtless  crathers,  to  let  yees 
lave  tha  hoose  without  givin  yees  something  to  ate." 

I  was  introduced  to  a  good  Methodist,  a  man  of  money.  I  intro- 
duced the  new  translation  to  him,  thinking  as  he  was  a  Bible  reader 
he  would  be  interested  in  the  work.  He  asked  me,  with  a  sneer,  if  I 
knew  how  wicked  it  was  to  change  the  Bible?" 

"Yes,"  I  answered;  "but  I  am  not  advocating  a  change,  only  a 
revision  of  God's  word  into  pure  English,  that  we  could  all  under- 
stand." 

"We  have  only  your  word  for  that,"  said  he. 

"My  word  is  my  bond,  and  it  is  a  good  one,  not  often  disputed; 
moreover,  it  is  supported  by  good  authority,  which  can  be  produced 
when  necessary,  and  last,  though  not  least,  here  is  a  specimen  of  the 
work  itself,  let  it  speak." 

When  read  and  explained,  he  very  rudely  said: 

"What  do  I  know  but  that  work  is  got  up  to  deceive  people,  and 
you  come  from  some  other  place  than  where  you  say.  It  is  very 
strange  that  men  would  pay  a  woman  and  send  her  out  to  interest  the 
people  in  that  work  instead  of  a  man." 

I  told  him  that  I  had  been  authorized  to  introduce  the  work  to  the 
colonists,but  I  was  not  paid,  nor  was  I  sent;  I  gave  all  my  spare  time 
to  the  work  willingly. 

"Humph,"  said  he. 

Now,  this  good  Methodist  man  had  not  a  spark  of  Christian  courte- 


TEACHING  ON  HURRICANE  HILL,   AND  OTHER  LABORS.  375 

sy,  though  a  Bible  reader.  He  said  the  work  was  got  up  to  suit  a 
party,  and  he  would  like  to  know  more  about  it  and  me  ere  he  helped 
it  any.  I  said  if  he  doubted  my  word,  doubted  the  testimony  that 
supported  it,  and  doubted  the  work  itself  after  examining  it,  I  doubted 
whether  his  Bible  reading  did  him  any  good.      He  rejoined,  angrily: 

"What  right  have  you  to  judge  me  ?  You  are  told  not  to  judge  that 
you  be  not  judged." 

"True,"  I  said;  "we  are  not  to  judge  others.  Now  you  have 
judged  me  an  impostor,  and  you  have  judged  the  great  and  good  men 
who  are  devoting  their  lives  and  talents  to  the  glorious  work  of  giving 
a  pure  version  of  God's  word  to  the  people  deceivers,  and  the  word 
itself  a  grand  deception  gotten  up  to  suit  a  party.  Therefore,  you 
have  given  me  the  right  to  call  you  an  unbeliever.  I  hope  you  will 
attend  to  what  I  have  said  and  I  may  call  on  you  again." 

Phebe  of  Cesarea  was  commended  by  Paul  to  the  church  at  Rome. 
The  Christians  were  to  help  her  in  her  business  whatever  she  needed. 
But  the  men  of  this  district  think  a  woman  is  only  fit  to  work  in  the 
stockyard;  she  is  of  no  account  out  of  it.  Hence  the  criticisms  on 
my  working  in  the  Lord's  vineyard  so  energetically. 

I  had  resumed  my  school  duties,  when  the  Rev.  Mr.  A called 

to  see  me  in  a  very  different  temper  from  that  which  he  exhibited  the 
first  time  he  called.  He  very  politely  asked  if  I  would  allow  him  to 
examine  the  children  a  little,  preparatory  to  a  public  Sunday-school 
examination  at  Gerringong,  and  would  I  allow  the  children  to  attend 
said  examination  ?  This  day  his  manners  were  those  of  a  gentleman, 
in  pleasing  contrast  with  the  coarse,  familiar  manners  of  the  people. 
I  told  him  he  was  at  liberty  to  examine  the  children  on  their  Scripture 
lessons,  and  I  should  allow  them  to  go  where  he  invited  them,  and  I 
should  take  pleasure  in  co-operating  with  him  in  all  that  pertained  to 
the  well-being  of  the  children  or  their  parents.  He  asked  permission 
to  examine  the  specimens  of  the  n^  translation,  which  I  was  ])lcased 
to  give,  and  I  gave  him  several  portions  to  take  home  with  him  to 
study  and  give  his  criticism,  as  he  was  a  graduate  of  Oxford  and  a 
scholar.     We  were  better  friends  now. 

Mr.  G was  trying  to  have  a  national  school-house  buiU  on  his 

land.  Such  schools  were  purely  secular,  without  the  Bible  in  them, 
and  as  his  tenants  were  all  Orangemen,  and  hated  Popery  in  all  its 
forms,  though  they  cared  nothing  for  the  Bible,  yet  they  thought  Mr. 

G was  plotting  against  their  principles,  by  having  a  school  without 

a  Bible.     They  secretly  disliked  Mr,  G ,  though  he  had  no  interest 


376  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

in  their  principles  as  long  as  they  paid  their  rent.  They  thought  he 
was  my  friend,  and  to  spite  him,  they  punished  me  by  not  paying  me 
what  I  had  earned,  or  making  the  hut  secure  for  me  to  live  in.  I  was 
mistaken  in  both  tenants  and  landlord,  and  both  gave  me  trouble.  The 
people  were  very  glad  that  a  snake  drove  me  out  among  them.     They 

saw  now  that  1  had  no  particular  friendship  for  Mr.  G ;  that  I  did 

not  go  to  the  big  house.  Their  doors  were  all  open  to  me,  and  all  vied 
with  each  other  who  would  show  me  the  most  kindness.  All  wished 
me  to  live  with  them,  but  this  I  could  not  do  as  a  permanent  thing. 
I  told  them  as  soon  as  a  ship  was  advertised  to  sail  for  America,  I 
should  leave  them.  The  trustees  of  the  school  met,  to  see  if  they 
could  muster  my  salary,  and  when  I  had  received  my  money,  I  asked 
them  if  they  wished  me  to  remain  till  a  ship  came,  or  should  I  close 
school.  They  wished  me  to  remain  by  all  means.  All  the  children 
liked  me,  and  were  doing  well;  I  must  stay.  I  asked  on  what  condi- 
tions they  wished  me  to  stay.  I  told  them  that  I  could  not  live  at  any 
of  their  houses,  and  I  could  not  do  as  I  had  done — to  leave  the  hut 
every  night,  with  everything  I  had  inside,  and  neither  locks  nor  latches 
to  the  doors,  and  walk  three  or  four  miles  to  find  a  sleeping  place  at 
night,  and  then  walk  that  distance  back  to  my  work  in  the  morning. 
At  last  it  was  settled  that  the  school-house  should  be  fenced  in,  and 
made  secure  in  every  way,  fastenings  put  to  the  doors,  and  each  one 
give  a  little  more  toward  my  salary,  to  enable  me  to  keep  a  servant. 
They  all  promised  very  fair,  and  I  consented  to  stay  a  httle  longer. 

The  first  day  I  returned  to  my  hut  to  live,  I  saw  a  crawling  thing 
take  refuge  in  my  sun-bonnet.  I  called  a  boy  to  kill  it,  and  he  pro- 
nounced it  a  death  adder.  A  child  came  into  the  room  crying,  "The 
cat  and  a  snake."  I  went  out  to  see  what  was  the  matter,  when  I  saw 
my  cat  (a  favorite  with  all  the  children)  in  the  coils  of  a  glittering  yel- 
low-ringed venomous  snake.  From  her  neck  to  the  tip  of  her  tail  she 
was  encircled.  "Good-bye,  pussj^"  I  said;  but  pussy  had  her  teeth, 
sharp  and  strong,  fixed  deep  in  the  neck  of  the  reptile,  disabling  it  from 
biting.     It  was  a  mortal  combat,  but  pussy  was  victorious. 

I  was  every  month  receiving  harbingers  from  Mr.  Campbell.  I 
would  read  them,  then  reread  them  to  the  people,  and  then  lend  them 
to  those  who  could  read.  I  feel,  when  receiving  papers,  periodicals 
and  letters  from  friends  far  away,  that  I  am  not  forgotten  by  them. 
All  my  letters  are  so  many  feasts  to  me,  as  I  am  surrounded  by  a  desert 
of  mind,  and  news  from  a  far  country  is  like  water  to  a  thirsty  soul. 

Some  of  my  friends  reproached  me  for  coming  to  this  country ;  but, 


TEACHING  ON  HURRICANE  HILL,  AND  OTHER  LABORS.  377 

though  I  am  a  wanderer  in  a  far  off  land,  far  from  the  fold  of  the 
churches,  yet  not  outside  of  Christ's  fold,  I  consider  that  I  simply  did 
my  duty,  and  I  am  satisfied.  I  came  to  my  own,  and  they  received 
nie  not.  I  was  deceived  and  disappointed,  but  that  was  no  fault  of 
mine.  I  have  discharged  my  duty,  and  in  consequence  I  have  stood 
alone,  without  a  home,  money,  or  friends,  in  the  midst  of  dangers,  seen 
and  unseen,  and  knew  not  what  to  do,  or  where  to  go.  But  my  ex- 
tremity was  the  opportunity  that  the  Lord  took  to  show  his  protecting 
care  and  guiding  hand.  I  do  know  that  the  Savior  of  man  is  Lord  of 
the  universe,  and  though  I  be  like  a  bruised  reed,  yet  he  will  not  allow 
me  to  be  broken. 

Mr.  M ,  who  invited  me  to  go  to  the  District  of  Illawarra,  had 

been  immersed,  and  so  had  his  wife.  He  had  been  reading  Mr.  Camp- 
bell's works  with  his  Bible  in  his  hand,  and  he  adopted  the  Bible  alone 
for  his  creed,  and  we  three  broke  the  loaf  every  Lord's  day.     Then 

Mr.  M began  to  proclaim  the  gospel,  and  others  were  baptized, 

and  so  a  little  church  was  organized  with  fourteen  members  on  the 
principles  of  Primitive  Christianity,  and  we  met  in  the  court-house  at 
Kiama,  six  miles  from  my  hut.  I  was  thankful  to  be  able  to  walk 
twelve  miles  every  Lord's  day  to  enjoy  this  privilege.  I  heard  of 
Bethany  College  being  destroyed  by  fire,  and  I  asked  myself  what  I 
could  do  to  help  rebuild  it.  I  thought  I  could  make  a  collection  of 
specimens  of  the  natural  history  of  the  district,  which  was  different 
from  that  of  any  other  part  of  the  colony,  and  send  it  to  the  museum. 

I  wrote  a  long  letter,  descriptive  of  various  creatures  and  things,  to 
Miss  Virginia  and  Miss  Dessie  Campbell,  and  I  here  transcribe  it: 

Illawarra  District,  April,  '59. 
My  dear  Miss  Virginia  and  my  dear  little  friend  Dessie: 

I  have  intended  writing  to  you  ever  since  I  came  here,  but  have  held  back  my 
pen  lest  I  should  cast  a  shadow  of  sadness  over  your  sunny  faces.  Now  mat  I 
have  begun  to  write,  I  shall  try  to  interest  you  by  giving  you  a  descrijjtion  of  the 
beautiful  district  in  which  I  live.  It  lies  about  one  hundred  miles  south  of  .Syd- 
ney, on  the  same  meridian,  150°  East  longitude,  and  about  35°  .South  latitude.  A 
belt,  or  range  of  hills,  1,500  feet  high,  of  a  semicircular  form,  full  of  water- 
washed  caves  and  indentations,  forms  the  background  of  the  district.  This  belt 
has  been  formerly  washed  by  the  waves  of  the  Pacific,  and  by  some  volcanic 
eruption  has  been  raised.  The  soil  is  a  rich  black  mold,  formed  by  the  decompo- 
sition  of  traj)  rock  mixed  with  sand  and  the  debris  from  the  mountains.  It  extends 
to  the  shore,  and  forms  a  rich  pasture  for  thousands  of  cattle.  The  dairy  returns 
are  very  profitable. 

Whether  from  reflected  heat,  or  other  cause,  the  vegetation  is  tropical  and 


378  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

semi  liopical.  The  great  variety  of  the  trees  and  flowers  makes  the  woods  beau- 
tiful in  the  summer  months  of  November,  December  and  January.  With  scarcely 
an  exception,  the  trees  are  evergreen;  and,  owing  to  the  somber  hue  of  the 
leaves,  they  give  a  dark  and  somewhat  monotonous  appearance  to  the  land- 
scape.  The  leaves  of  most  of  the  trees  are  peculiar,  in  being  vertical  instead  of 
hoiizontal.  They  give  but  little  shade  compared  to  the  forest  trees  of  other 
parts  of  the  world.  Many  trees  have  their  leaves  alike  on  both  sides,  and  both 
sides  possess  the  same  organs.  The  acacia  family  furnishes  a  great  many  plants. 
In  the  flowering  season  our  forests  are  decorated  with  their  bright  yellow  blos- 
soms, and  redolent  with  their  sweet  but  powerful  odor.  Wattles  are  used  for 
tanning.  The  miall  is  a  beautiful  tree,  with  a  delicious  scent  like  that  of  violets. 
The  eucalyptus  is  a  numerous  tribe  all  over  the  colony.  It  is  of  great  commercial 
value.  It  comprises  all  the  varieties  of  gum  trees.  Some  of  them  shed  their 
baik  periodically,  but  not  their  leaves.  They  exude  a  hard,  astringent  gum,  from 
which  circumstance  they  derive  their  common  name.  The  leaves,  when  crushed 
or  wet,  after  a  rain,  smell  like  camphor.  The  names  are  blue,  red,  white  and 
spotted  gums,  the  manna,  the  tea,  the  turpentine,  the  iron  bark,  the  stringy  bark, 
and  the  mahogany — all  belonging  to  the  same  order.  The  mahogany  is  much  used 
for  fencing  and  firewood.  The  casuarine,  or  Australian  oaks,  look  like  fir  trees. 
The  banksias  is  a  tribe  of  very  ugly  trees,  but  very  useful  in  ship  and  boat  build- 
ing, on  account  of  the  numerous  elbows  the  branches  have.  Their  flowers  are 
shaped  like  bottle  brushes.  The  trees  are  called  honeysuckles  on  account  of  the 
quantity  of  honey  they  contain.  The  grass  tree  (Jiaiithon-hea)  has  a  flower  like  a 
bullrush.  The  fig  tribe  grows  to  an  enormous  size.  One  species  (Ficus  elasticus) 
aft'ords,  from  its  milky  juice,  the  caoutchouc,  or  India  rubber.  Ficus  giganiicus 
has  leaves  four  inches  wide  and  twelve  inches  long.  It  grows  like  the  banyan 
tree  of  India.  It  sends  down  suckers  from  the  top  which  cling  to  the  sides  of  the 
trunk  and  finally  unite  with  it,  forming  high  buttresses.  Another  sends  down 
suckers  from  the  top,  and  they  take  root  in  the  ground,  which  form  trunks  to 
support  a  leafy  canopy,  which  spreads  wide  and  sends  out  more  suckers,  which  in 
turn  grow  down  and  take  root,  until  the  tree  covers  a  large  space  of  ground,  and 
looks  as  if  it  could  give  shelter  to  all  the  cattle  in  the  country.  The  avenues  and 
arches  are  impervious  to  the  sun's  rays.  The  outside  suckers,  hanging  in  all 
lengths,  remind  one  of  boa-constrictors  looking  for  their  prey,  as  they  swing  to 
and  fro  in  the  wind.  The  wood  of  this  tree  is  of  no  use,  and  the  flying  foxes  eat 
the  figs. 

The  palm  trees,  of  which  tribe  the  cabbage  is  most  abundant,  is  a  graceful  tree 
from  eighty  to  a  hundred  feet  high.  It  yields  the  so-called  esculent  at  the  crown 
of  the  stem.  It  forms  a  beautiful  and  interesting  feature  of  the  landscape.  There 
is  a  gigantic  nettle  that  I  would  root  out  and  destroy  if  I  could.  The  wood  is 
soft  and  spongy,  the  leaf  very  large,  like  a  sunflower  leaf,  hirsute  underneath, 
and  every  bristle  has  a  most  painful  sting.  The  part  stung  by  it  becomes  para- 
lyzed. Horses  have  been  killed  by  it.  The  tree  commonly  grows  to  the  height 
of  fifty  feet,  and  ten  in  circumference;  but  it  grows  in  some  parts  of  this  district 
140  feet  high,  and  thirty-two  feet  in  circumference.  The  tree  ferns  are  perfectly 
beautiful.     Where  the  gum  trees  lift  their  tall  heads,  two  hundred  feet  before 


TEACHING  ON  HURRICANE  HILL,   AND  OTHER  LAPORS.  379 

brandling,  there  you  see  fern  trees  nestling  under  the  shelter  of  the  eucalyptic 
canopy,  from  two  to  forty  feet  high.  I  had  a  fern  cut  down  to  enable  me  to  take 
its  measure.  I  could  not  measure  it  in  the  usual  way,  they  grew  so  close  to- 
gether. I  found  it  forty  feet  high  and  seven  feet  in  circumference.  I  could  look 
at  a  forest  of  ferns  for  a  whole  day. 

The  native  cherry  is  the  fruit  of  the  exocarpus.  The  stone  grows  outside  of 
the  pulp;  not  round  it,  but  beside  it  on  the  end  of  the  stem,  like  twin  cherries. 
The  pulp  is  insipid.  Another  tree  produces  a  pear  which  looks  pleasant  to  the 
eye,  but  on  close  inspection  is  but  a  block  of  wood,  and  when  ripe  opens  and  dis- 
closes a  small  flat  seed.  Our  wooden  pears  surpass  your  wooden  nutmegs,  as  we 
do  not  manufacture  them — they  are  the  natural  fruit  of  the  land.  We  have  gi- 
gantic grasses  that  grow  from  six  to  ten  feet  high  in  tussocks. 

lUawarra  is  for  natural  beauty  unsurpassed,  and  it  is  called  the  garden  spot  of 
New  South  Wales.  A  spur  is  sent  out  from  the  semi-circular  range  of  hills  lying 
in  the  background.  On  its  point,  or  very  near  it,  stands  my  hut,  from  which  I 
have  a  most  commanding  view.  The  Pacific  Ocean  is  at  my  feet,  nine  hundred 
feet  below  me.  The  road  winds  round  the  point  of  the  spur  on  which  I  am 
perched,  between  the  sea  and  me.  The  mountains  all  around  are  clothed  in 
richest  verdure,  from  summit  to  base.  The  hill  behind  me  rises  almost  perpen- 
dicular, and  is  covered  with  many  richly  and  variously  colored  wild  flowers.  The 
gorgeous  flowering  vines  creep  and  climb  and  interlace  with  the  branches  of  the 
tall  trees,  and  altogether  they  form  a  colossal  bouquet.  If  dame  Nature  be- 
grudges us  fruit,  she  is  very  lavish  with  flowers.  Perhaps  the  most  beautiful  is 
the  waratah,  or  native  tulip.  It  has  a  slender  woody  stem,  from  four  to  six  feet 
high,  and  is  crowned  by  a  large  flower,  which  at  first  is  of  a  delicate  pink,  and 
then,  as  it  expands,  deepens  into  a  brilliant  scarlet,  then  into  a  rich  crimson. 
The  Christmas  tree,  so  called  because  of  its  use  in  decorations  at  that  season,  is 
laden  with  small  crimson  flowers.  The  gigantic  lily  grows  twelve  feet  high,  and 
bears  on  its  head  a  large  cluster  of  flowers  a  foot  in  diameter.  The  rock  lily 
bears  a  spike  of  wax-like  flowers.  The  native  rose  is  a  tuft  of  pretty  pink  How- 
ers  growing  on  top  of  a  stem  about  a  foot  in  height,  with  small,  oval,  fleshy 
leaves  growing  flat  on  the  stem,  as  if  pressed.  There  are  many  species  of  epacris, 
which  represent  the  heaths  of  some  latitudes  in  Africa.  In  the  lagoons  we  have 
the  pink  lotus,  a  beautiful  large  flower,  its  circular  leaf  sometimes  measuring  two 
feet  in  diameter,  while  its  rose-colored  flower  is  six  inches  across. 

The  birds  of  this  district  are  more  beautiful  and  more  diversified  than  in  any 
other  part  of  the  colony.  The  most  splendid  pigeons  are  found  here:  the  tup- 
knot,  the  bronze  wing,  the  wonga  wonga,  and  others.  We  have  also  the  lovely 
satin  bird,  with  beautiful  eyes.  When  young  they  are  dark  green,  speckled  with 
golden  spots;  when  full  grown  they  arc  black  and  glossy  like  satin.  I  was  hunt- 
ing for  a  lyre  bird's  nest  and  came  across  a  satin  bird's,  which  was  built  on  the 
ground.  It  was  shaped  like  a  bower,  about  a  foot  long  and  six  inches  wide,  of 
beautiful  trellis-work,  interwoven  with  bright-colored  threads,  and  shreds  of  scar- 
let, blue  and  other  colored  cloths.  The  floor  resembled  Mosaic,  inlaid  with 
bright-colored  china,  glass  and  pebbles.  It  was  a  beautiful  piece  of  ingenuity. 
There  is  a  numerous  tribe  of  accipitrine.    Among  these  may  be  named  the  wedge- 


380  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

tailed  eagle,  which  is  large,  bold  and  fierce.  The  Australian  eagles  eat  carrion. 
A  white  hawk,  with  either  red  or  yellow  eyes,  is  not  uncomm>3n.  We  have  beau- 
tiful black  and  white  swans.  I  was  awakened  one  night  with  the  note  of  the 
cuckoo  sounding  mournfully.  I  thought  it  very  strange  to  hear  it  at  midnight. 
I  discovered  afterward  that  it  was  a  species  of  owl,  the  boobook  of  Australia, 
that  has  the  cuckoo's  note.  Our  song-birds  are  not  equal  to  the  nightingale  or 
sky-lark  of  Northern  climes,  but  many  of  them  have  very  sweet  notes.  The  bell 
bird,  the  coach  whip,  the  more  pork,  all  give  out  notes  to  please  the  ear.  The 
dollar  bird  is  so  named  because  of  a  circular  white  spot,  the  size  of  a  dollar,  un- 
der each  wing.  The  rifle  bird  is  the  most  gorgeous  of  all  the  birds  of  Australia, 
The  friar  bird  has  a  bald  head.  The  wattle  bird  has  gills.  The  magnificent  lyre 
bird  receives  its  name  from  the  graceful  form  and  arrangement  of  his  tail  feath- 
ers, which  resemble  a  lyre.  One  of  the  uses  of  the  long  and  beautiful  tail  is  to 
protect  the  hen  while  incubating.  He  sits  opposite  her,  spreads  out  his  tail,  and 
as  the  sun  moves  he  moves,  and  uses  his  tail  as  a  parasol.  He  is  a  gallant  bird. 
We  have  a  piping  crow  that  is  equal  in  its  imitation  of  sounds  to  the  American 
mocking-bird;  black  and  white  cockatoos;  every  variety  of  parrot  and  parrakeet, 
all  remarkable  for  their  beauty  of  form  and  splendor  of  plumage.  The  Alcedo 
giganticus  is  the  Australian  king-fisher;  but,  instead  of  fish,  he  catches  snakes. 
Two  of  these  ugly  but  useful  birds  will  catch  a  snake  (if  large)  by  neck  and  tail, 
fly  up  to  some  height,  shaking  the  snake  as  they  fly,  dislocating  his  back  in  sev- 
eral places,  then  drop  him  and  leave  him  to  die.  The  other  birds  are  too  numer- 
ous to  name.     One  species  of  duck  builds  her  nest  in  a  tree. 

We  have  several  species  of  bats.  One  is  popularly  called  flying  fox,  from  its 
great  size  and  the  resemblance  of  its  head  to  that  of  a  fox.  They  measure  from 
three  to  lour  feet,  from  the  tip  of  one  wing  to  the  tip  of  the  other. 

The  Fox  Ground  region  is  a  high  plateau,  with  a  precipitous  ascent;  but  na- 
ture has  made  a  stair  of  rocks  on  the  face  of  the  mountain,  up  which  I  was  climb- 
ing one  day,  with  the  Bible  specimens  under  my  arm  as  usual.  When  I  reached 
the  top  I  sat  down  beside  a  wee  burn  that  went  meandering  by.  I  thought  of 
the  shady  nooks  and  sunny  brooks  of  my  native  land.  I  looked  down  into  the 
clear  face  of  the  water,  expecting  to  see  minnows,  instead  of  which  I  saw  a  num- 
ber of  the  queerest  little  animals  swimming  about,  fearless  and  undisturbed.  I 
procured  one  and  preserved  it  for  the  museum.  It  is  the  ornithorhyncus,  or  duck 
bill.  It  belongs  to  the  monotremata  family.  It  burrows  and  it  has  two  openings 
to  its  burrow,  one  on  land  and  one  in  water.  Its  young  are  hatched  from  eggs; 
its  coat  is  fur;  it  has  a  duck's  bill;  it  has  four  legs;  it  is  a  mammal,  and  has  the 
rudimental  bones  of  the  marsupial  pouch,  and  it  is  amphibious. 

I  was  leaving  school  one  day  with  the  children  when  I  saw  another  curious  an- 
imal. It  looked  like  a  hedgehog.  The  boys  gave  chase  and  it  rolled  itself  up 
like  a  ball  and  tumbled  into  a  mud-hole,  and  was  fast  disappearing.  I  got  a  stick 
and  used  it  as  a  lever  to  raise  his  spiny  hogship  out  of  the  mud.  It  took  the 
combined  efforts  of  several  of  us  to  bring  him  out,  and,  when  we  did,  I  found  it 
worth  the  trouble.  He  was  a  fine  specimen  of  the  Echidna.  He  is  the  Australian 
ant-eater.  He  looks  like  a  hedgehog,  but  has  a  tube  instead  of  a  snout,  out  of 
which  protruded  a  long,  narrow  tongue,  which  measured  seven  inches.     His  claws 


TEACHING  ON  HURRICANE  HILL,  AND  OTHER  LABORS.  38 1 

were  long  and  strong.  He  was  soon  under  the  scalpel.  When  I  had  preserved 
and  stuffed  him,  I  folded  his  four  feet,  each  on  the  other,  on  his  breast,  covered 
them  with  his  head,  and  then  rolled  his  tail  over  all,  just  as  he  looked  when  I 
caught  him — a  ball  full  of  sharp  spines.  He  could  use  his  feet  running  and  bur- 
rowing, but  could  roll  faster  than  run.  Now  he  is  laid  away  as  a  specimen  of 
natural  history.  *         *         «         * 

About  the  time  that  the  above  letter  was  written  I  was  receiving  let- 
ters from  friendsWhat  were  very  precious  to  me,  and  among  them  the 
following : 

My  dear  Sister  Davies :  Enclosed  find  a  letter  from  Judge  Edmunds  to  you.  His 
expressions  of  sympathy  are  such  as  I  would  myself  write.  We  often  think  of 
you  and  wonder  why  the  Lord  took  you  away  from  dear  Christian  friends  to  be 
disappointed- among  false  ones.  But  it  was  for  some  wise  purpose,  and  he  will 
make  it  plain  to  you.  Perhaps  you  are  already  able  to  read  this  lesson  of  Provi- 
dence. I  have  authorized  Mr.  Lord,  of  Melbourne,  to  draw  on  Mr.  Edmunds 
through  us  for  such  sums  of  money  as  you  may  need.  I  am  sure  that  you  have 
many  very  warm  friends  here,  who  would  share  the  last  comfort  they  had  with 
Sister  Eliza.  May  this  assurance  cheer  you  in  your  loneliness,  my  very  dear 
sister.  »  «  *  j  yf\\\  ggj^^j  yQy  J^  package  of  all  our  latest  publications. 
Try  to  do  all  you  can  for  us  while  you  are  in  New  South  Wales,  and,  if  possible, 
come  back  again  to  where  friends  will  gladly  welcome  you.  Mrs.  Kelly  has  a 
deep  interest  in  you.  Affectionately,  C.  A.  Buckbee. 

My  very  dear  Sister:  Yours  of  August  is  just  at  hand.  I  am  thankful  that  you 
are  alive  and  well.  I  hope  you  have  received  my  letters,  though  you  do  not  say 
so.  As  soon  as  I  heard  from  you,  I  was  concerned  to  provide  a  way  to  bring  you 
home  again  whenever  you  wish.  I  had  Mr.  Buckbee  to  write  a  letter  of  credit 
to  Mr.  Lord,  so  that  he  will  send  you  home  in  one  of  their  ships  from  Melbourne. 
Mr.  Buckbee  also  wrote  to  Mr.  Lord  to  do  all  for  you  that  you  require.  So,  if  at 
any  time  you  go  to  Mr.  Lord,  or  draw  upon  him  where  you  are,  the  drafts  will 
be  honored.  I  also  hope  that  you  will  find  a  home  in  Mr.  Lord's  family  till  you 
can  decide  what  to  do.  His  house  would  be  a  Christian  home.  *  •  • 
You  may  be  sowing  seed  in  those  children  that  will  spring  up  by  and  by.  Your 
firmness  and  Christian  principles  may  lay  the  foundation  for  a  good  work.    »*    *    • 

Mr.  Campbell  was  here  on  a  visit  lately.  There  is  but  one  feeling  here,  that  is 
regret  that  you  have  left  us.     But  we  must  have  you  back  again. 

Ever  yours,  in  Christ,  J.  Edmunds. 

These  and  kindred  letters  werg  gratefully  received,  and  read  and  re- 
read. I  felt  that,  though  I  was  far  off,  1  was  not  cast  off  by  tliose  I 
loved.  I  was  lovingly  remembered,  and  commended  to  my  heavenly 
Father,  and  he  will  surely  hear  the  many  prayers  on  my  behalf.  I 
wrote  to  Mr.  Lord  to  j)rocure  me  a  jjassage  home,  but  all  his,  and  every 
other  ship  in  port,  were  chartered  to  oilier  countries,  not  one  for  the 
States. 


382  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

One  Saturday  I  had  gone  a  long  distance  with  the  new  publications 
I  had  received.  I  came  home  to  the  hut  tired  and  hungry ;  for  since 
I  had  a  girl  to  stay  with  me,  I  always  preferred  my  own  surroundings. 
What  was  my  surprise  to  find  the  hut  all  open,  and  the  girl  gone,  bag 
and  baggage.  I  sat  down,  and  had  a  good  cry,  I  was  so  tired.  I  felt 
more  lonesome  than  ever  before.  I  also  felt  a  dislike  to  sleep  in  the 
hut  by  myself,  and  the  experience  of  going  from  house  to  house  for  a 
sleeping  place  every  night,  I  had  no  wish  to  renew.  I  asked  God 
v/hat  I  was  to  do,  and  I  also  asked  him  to  spread  his  covering  wings 
over  me  to  protect  me.  The  next  day  being  Lord's  day,  I  walked  to 
church,  but  I  stayed  with  one  of  ray  patrons  all  night.  A  storm 
blew  up  that  night,  and  when  I  went  to  school  in  the  morning,  the  hut 
was  almost  a  total  wreck.  The  boys  tried  to  put  it  to  rights,  but  it  was 
very  msecure.  My  scholars  and  myself  were  great  friends;  we  had 
formed  a  strong  attachment  for  one  another.  They  were  ever  ready  and 
willing  to  do  for  me  everything  they  could,  and  I  loved  them  sincerely. 
Their  improvement  was  marked.  What  was  I  to  do  at  this  time?  My 
life  was  in  constant  jeopardy  in  the  hut,  and  I  feared  to  live  in  it  alone, 
and  to  run  from  house  to  house  for  lodging  I  could  not  endure.  I 
thought  I  must  leave,  but  my  heart  yearned  over  my  young  folks.  Oh, 
I  was  sorely  puzzled  to  decide.  If  I  could  have  heard  of  a  ship  sailing 
for  the  States,  there  would  have  been  no  indecision.  As  it  was,  I  could 
not  leave  the  colony,  and  I  would  rather  stay  among  my  children,  who 
were  doing  so  well,  for  the  time  I  stayed  in  the  colony,  than  to  go  else- 
where. But  self-preservation  bade  me  go,  if  the  people  would  not  pro- 
vide for  me  a  safe  dwelling. 

The  most  fearful  accidents  were  occurring  daily.  The  men,  as  a 
rule,  were  dreadfully  dissipated.  They  would  drink,  and  dress,  and 
ride  about  on  court  days,  and  leave  their  wives  and  little  children  to 
do  all  the  drudgery  of  the  stock  yard  and  dairy.  One  man  was  burned 
to  death  while  intoxicated;  another  in  the  same  state  fell  off  his  horse, 
and  was  killed  on  the  spot;  a  tree  fell  on  another;  another  was  drowned; 
all  in  a  few  days.  These  poor  illiterate  men  were  making  money  fast, 
but  spending  it  in  a  way  to  destroy  themselves.  I  thought  I  must  do 
something  for  them.  I  could  only  reach  them  through  the  medium  of 
my  pen.  I  wrote  a  piece  in  the  local  newspaper  headed,  A  Warning 
Voice.  It  was  based  on  passing  events.  The  facts  were  startling,  and 
as  my  noin  de  pluvie  was"  A  Stranger,"  my  article  was  read  by  all  the 
men  who  could  read,  and  they  were  few ;  but  then  the  children  read 
for  those  who  cpuld  not  read,  and  for  a  while  the  drunkard's  cup  was 


TEACHING  ON  HURRICANE  HILL,  AND  OTHER  LABORS.  383 

held  in  abeyance.    The  young  men  and  lads  became  more  thciightful. 

I  created  quite  a  sensation  among  my  patrons  one  day.  I  told  them 
very  emphatically  that  I  must  leave  them,  self-preservation  demanded 
it.  I  told  them  I  had  been  teaching  for  them  one  year,  exposed  to 
every  kind  of  difficulty,  danger  and  privation.  They  had  fed  me  on 
promises,  but  fulfilled  none;  not  one.  All  my  promises  I  had  kept  to 
the  letter.  They  were  all  very  anxious  to  have  me  stay  with  them;  but 
though  a  kind  heavenly  Father  had  cared  for  me,  and  protected  me 
thus  far,  I  was  in  doubt  whether  it  was  my  duty  to  remain.  I  felt  that 
I  had  no  courage  to  live  as  I  had  lived  for  the  last  year.  A  dark 
cloud  seemed  to  hang  over  my  pathway.  I  had  been  kept  up  hoping 
a  ship  would  come;  thirfailing,  and  men's  promises  failing,  and  no  im- 
provement in  my  circumstances,  altogether  I  did  not  know  which  way 
to  turn.  I  asked  the  Lord  to  clear  my  way,  that  I  might  know  which 
way  to  go. 

I  had  been  offered  the  hospitalities  of  many  houses,  but  all  to  no 
purpose.  One  of  my  richest  patrons,  a  man  who  had  been  a  candi- 
date for  Parliament  last  election  time,  told  me  I  was  welcome  to  a 
home  in  his  house  if  I  could  "put  up  as  they  did."  I  went  to  his 
house  one  cold,  stormy  night.  This  rich  man's  house  could  boast  of 
only  one  fire-place,  and  that  was  in  the  kitchen.  Into  this  I  was 
ushered  by  the  mistress  of  the  mansion,  who  placed  a  chair  and  wiped 
it  with  her  apron  ere  she  allowed  me  to  sit  down  in  the  midst  of  the 
family  group,  which  consisted  of  the  master  and  mistress,  and  a  num- 
ber of  young  men  and  maidens.  I  could  not  distinguish  the  sons  from 
the  servants.  Their  dress  and  conversation  all  savored  of  the  cow- 
I^en  and  pig-sty.  The  merits  and  demerits  of  every  cow  and  calf  and 
pig  were  discussed  in  most  approved  stockyard  style.  After  partaking 
of  a  family  meal  with  Pat,  Mat  and  Biddy,  I  excused  myself,  and 
asked  to  be  taken  to  my  room.  I  was  conducted  through  a  dirty  yard 
in  the  rain  to  my  sleeping  apartment,  which  was  a  shed,  with  a  wide 
slab  shelf  at  each  side  of  the  room.  In  front  of  each  hung  a  calico 
curtain,  having  a  small  space  between  the  two  for  the  door  to  ojK-n. 

On  one  of  these  shelves  I  was  to  sleep  with  Miss  G .     I  thought 

it  looked  narrow  enough  for  one;  but  when  we  were  both  in  I  had  to 
lie  very  straight  and  very  close  to  the  wet  wall.  I  tried  to  forget  my- 
self in  sleep,  but  was  soon  aroused  by  a  man's  voice  addressing  me. 
I  was  startled  and  sat  up.  Again  I  was  addressed  by  the  same  voice. 
Miss  G laughed,  and  said: 

"It's  only  father  going  to  bed." 


384  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

So  father  and  mother  slept  on  the  other  shelf.  I  could  not  sleep 
with  the  idea  of  a  man  being  in  the  room.     I  was  afraid  that  Miss 

G would  think  me  a  bad  sleeper  and  a  troublesome  bedfellow. 

Between  the  narrow  bed  and  wet  bedclothes,  the  small  roor^i  and  so 
many  in  it,  I  had  not  much  trouble  to  keep  awake.  I  let  my  room- 
mates get  up  before  me.  When  left  to  myself  I  thought  I  would  get 
up,  wash,  have  a  warm  and  go  to  school.  I  could  find  no  water,  so  I 
dressed  and  had  a  cup  of  boiled  tea  and  a  piece  of  bread  for  break- 
fast. Then  I  wended  my  way  to  the  hut  on  Hurricane  Hill.  I  con- 
cluded that  I  could  not  "put  up"  as  this  rich  man's  family  did,  or  as 
ray  patrons  did.  They  had  no  idea  of  cleanliness  or  comfort,  but 
they  wasted  money  on  drink  and  dress.  When  I  went  into  the  empty 
hut  now  I  always  felt  very  lonely. 

The  patrons  met  to  see  what  could  be  done  to  keep  me.  They  said 
the  children  could  not  do  without  me.  I  told  them  that  I  loved  the 
children,  and  I  had  no  opportunity  to  go  back  to  my  friends,  and  I 
had  no  other  situation  in  view.  So  that  I  had  no  inducement  to  leave 
them.  But  seeing  they  cared  nothing  for  me  I  was  compelled  to  leave 
them.  I  did  not  intend  to  ask  anything  from  them,  for  I  had  no  faith 
in  their  promises.  They  had  seen  me  struggling  against  every  kind  of 
difiiculty  with  perfect  indifference.  I  had  become  inured  to  hardships, 
such  as  I  never  knew  till  I  came  amongst  them.  My  wants  were  few 
and  easily  supplied.  But  what  I  really  did  want,  not  one  of  them 
could  supply,  viz. :  a  room  to  myself.  Every  storm  that  blew  endan- 
gered my  life  in  the  hut;  for  some  part  of  it  tumbled  down  every 
stormy  night.  I  told  them  if  they  appreciated  my  services  as  highly 
as  they  professed,  they  would  care  more  for  my  comfort,  at  least  for 
my  safety,  than  they  ever  did.  Moreover,  the  spirit  of  distrust  was  so 
strong  among  them,  that  no  one  could  collect  my  money  for  me,  nor 
would  they  give  it  to  myself,  and  so  they  had  made  me  suffer. 

My  patrons  at  last  saw  the  necessity  of  building  me  a  room  for  my 
security.  I  told  them  I  could  not  trust  them,  they  had  so  often  prom- 
ised and  failed  to  fulfill  their  promise.     One  man  got  up  and  said: 

"Rather  than  Mrs.  Davies  shall  go,  I  shall  build  her  a  room  against 
my  house,  at  my  own  expense,  and  my  daughter  shall  wait  on  her." 

His  daughter  was  the  pretty  girl  who  attracted  me  to  her  the  first 
time  I  saw  her.  She  had  wonderfully  improved  in  every  way.  If 
this  was  done,  and  my  school  fees  promptly  paid,  I  said  I  would  stay 
with  them  another  year,  if  no  ship  went  to  the  States  from  Sydney  or 
Melbourne. 


TEACHING  ON  HURRICANE  HILL,   AND  OTHER  LABORS.  385 

Boxes  of  books  and  the  American  Bible  Union  publications  arrived 
at  Sydney.  I  gave  my  school  a  week's  holiday  and  went  to  Sydney. 
I  stayed  at  Mr.  Dixon's,  my  old  friend.  On  pleasant  mornings  and 
moonlight  nights  we  went  out  boating  down  the  harbor.  This  was 
delightful,  and  we  also  had  pleasant  drives.  Mr.  Williams,  the  ex- 
American  ConsuJ,  passed  the  cases  through  the  Custom-house.  I  ha5 
a  great  supply  of  books,  and  now  I  wished  to  dispose  of  them.  I 
asked  Mr.  Merril,  the  American  Consul,  to  introduce  me  to  Gov.  Sir 
Wm.  Denison.  He  said  he  would  introduce  me  to  the  Colonial  Sec- 
retary, and  he  would  introduce  me,  in  court  dress,  to  His  Excellency. 
I  said  the  word  of  God  did  not  need  so  much  dress  and  ceremony  to 
be  introduced  to  His  Excellency.  I  asked  for  Sir  Wm.  Denison' s 
titles,  and  left  the  Consulate.  I  wrote  a  note  to  the  governor,  stated 
my  business,  and  asked  if  he  would  grant  me  an  audience.  I  was 
about  to  send  a  messenger,  but  to  save  time  I  concluded  to  carry  the 
note  to  Government  House  myself.  I  asked  the  hall  porter  if  Sir 
Wm.  Denison  was  at  home  ? 

"Yes,"  said  the  man,  "but  he  can't  see  you;  this  is  not  one  of  the 
visiting  days,"  and  he  rather  grandly  pomted  to  a  tablet  on  the  wall, 
saying  :   "That  will  tell  you  when  His  E.xcellency  receives  visitors." 

I  threw  my  note  on  the  table  without  looking  at  the  tablet,  and 
said,  "Take  that  to  His  Excellency,  and  he  will  tell  me  whether  he 
will  receive  me." 

He  took  the  note,  and  in  a  few  minutes  returned,  cap  in  hand, 
bowing  most  obsequiously,  and  throwing  the  folding-doors  open,  bade 
me  enter.  Another  door  opened  and  I  was  in  a  large  room;  a  gen- 
tleman at  the  end  of  a  long  table  held  my  note  in  his  hand,  and  asked, 
"Are  you  the  lady  who  wrote  this  note  ?" 

I  bowed. 

He  said,  in  almost  as  pompous  a  tone  as  the  porter  used,  "Follow 
me,  and  you  shall  have  an  audience  of  His  Excellency  now." 

I  followed  him;  another  wide  door  was  thrown  open,  and  I  was  in- 
troduced to  the  Governor-General  of  Australia.  He  was  seated  at 
the  far  end  of  the  room,  and  as  I  went  up  to  him  he  rose  and  pointed 
to  a  chair  for  me  to  be  seated.  Without  any  embarrassing  prelimina- 
ries, His  Excellency  opened  the  business  at  once,  by  saying  : 

"I  have  read  your  note  and  I  understand  it,  for  it  is  very  concise. 
Now  allow  me  to  ask  a  few  questions." 

I  bowed. 

He  asked  who  were  engaged  in  the  enterprise?     What  was  their 

25 


386  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

object?  King  James'  version  was  dear  to  all  hearts,  why  change  it? 
I  said  the  inspired  word  was  not  to  be  changed,  only  the  mistransla- 
tions, and  to  give  us  a  correct  translation  in  the  English  of  the  present 
day.  He  asked  a  great  many  questions,  and  listened  with  pleased 
attention  to  my  answers.  He  said  the  whole  thing  was  new  to  him, 
but  that  he  would  like  to  have  the  work  to  study.  "And  I  will  surely 
give  you  my  patronage,  and  will  either  give  you  a  donation,  or  become 
a  subscriber." 

He  then  laughed,  and  said:  "What  would  my  brother  say,  who  is  a 
Bishop  in  the  High  Church,  were  he  to  know  that  I  patronized  and 
paid  into  an  American  society  to  revise  and  re-translate  King  James' 
version  of  the  Bible." 

I  smiled,  and  said :  '  'Your  Excellency  is  of  age,  you  can  act  for 
yourself  without  responsibility,  even  to  your  brother." 

"True,"  said  he. 

The  reception  this  great  man  gave  me  was  so  gracious,  his  manner 
so  kind  and  cordial,  his  readiness  to  give  his  money,  his  patronage 
and  the  use  of  his  name  to  induce  others  to  follow  his  example,  were 
all  gratifying  and  encouraging.  In  the  name  of  the  Bible  Union  I 
thanked  him. 

"No  thanks;  no  thanks  are  due  tome;  I  being  a  High  Church 
man,  the  church  may  not  approve  of  my  action ;  but  I  think  all  the 
difference  of  opinfon  is,  after  all,  moonshine.  If  we  look  straight  to 
the  Lord  prayerfully  to  enlighten  our  darkness,  we  would  know  the 
truth  without  so  many  divisions  in  the  church.  For  my  own  part,  I  shall 
seek  truth  and  find  it  where  I  can,  without  the  aid  of  the  church,"  he 
said. 

When  I  was  preparing  to  leave  it  began  to  rain  very  heavily.  I 
was  invited  to  keep  my  seat,  and  Sir  William  asked  innumerable  ques- 
tions. He  seemed  greatly  interested  in  America  and  in  my  mission. 
We  were  interested  in  each  other's  chat  for  more  than  two  hours;  then 
he  dismissed  me,  sending  his  footman  to  carry  an  umbrella  for  me.  I 
thanked  God  for  my  success. 

My  friend  Mr.  D said:   "That  was  a  bold  step  of  yours  to  go 

to  Government  House,  to  the  governor  of  all  the  Australias,  without 
an  introduction  in  due  form.  I  hope  you  have  learned  a  lesson  in 
humility  by  the  rebuff  you  must  have  had  for  trying  to  introduce  the 
work  of  a  few  obscure  Americans  for  His  Excellency  to  patronize." 

"I  have  learned  the  lesson  of  humility,  and  my  gracious  reception 
at  Government  House,  and  great  success  in  my  mission,  has  added  to 


TEACHING  ON  HURRICANE  HILL,  AND  OTHER  LABORS.  387 

my  original  stock ;  as  I  could  not  say  that  I  had  the  honor  of  an  in- 
troduction to  His  Excellency  by  the  Hon.  H.  P ,  I  found  that  it 

did  not  require  the  pride  of  position  to  introduce  the  pure  word  of 
God  into  Government  House.  So  my  humble  trust  in  God's  goodness 
to  give  me  favor  to  enable  me  to  stand  before  governors,  or  even  kings 
if  need  be,  to  plead  for  a  pure  version  of  His  word,  has  greatly  in- 
creased," I  said. 

My  friend  Mr.  D did  not  admire  the  Americans. 

I  had  an  audience  with  His  Lordship,  the  Metropolitan  Bishop  of 
Australia,  with  a  far  different  result.  I  was  introduced  to  the  great 
man,  who  was  petticoated  and  aproned  up  to  the  chin  and  down  to  the 
knees,  and  gaitered  down  to  the  toes.  This  kind  of  dress  made  the 
bishop  look  taller  than  he  is,  though  he  is  seven  feet  in  height.  Truly 
he  is  a  pillar  in  the  church.  As  he  turned  over  the  leaves  of  Acts  of 
Apostles  he  said,  he  could  not  sympathize  with  the  reviser  of  it,  and 
he  spoke  of  another  reviser  who  was  a  dissenter. 

"Therefore,"  said  he,  "I  will  not  countenance  it." 

I  ventured  to  ask  if  he  thought  King  James'  version  correct. 

"No,"  he  said;  "but  where  twenty  corrections  might  me  made,  one 
might  be  made  that  would  injure  the  church." 

"But  if  that  one  correction  be  the  truth,  what  then?" 

"The  fact  is,"  said  His  Lordship,  "I  am  too  English  to  wish  the  new 
translation  a  success,  or  a  wide  circulation.  I  will  not  patronize  it, 
but  when  the  work  is  finished,  I  should  like  to  have  it  as  a  literary 
curiosity.     It  will  greatly  help  scholars  to  study  divinity." 

We  had  quite  a  long  discussion.  He  smiled  very  pleasantly,  and 
said,  "I  commend  you  for  your  zeal,  and  for  your  sake  I  wisli  1  could 
encourage  you;  bnt  your  zeal  is  not  in  a  good  cause." 

I  thought  I  could  not  be  better  employed  than  in  pleading  for  a 
pure  version  of  God's  word.  I  visited  several  of  the  most  wealthy 
of  t!ie  members  of  Parliament,  using  the  governor's  name  as  I  was 
allowed,  and  I  was  very  successful  in  gaining  memberships  and  dona- 
tions, just  because  the  governor  had  set  the  example.  Others  were 
interested  in  the  work. 

j^[r.  W had  been  returned  member  of  Parliament  for  Kiama, 

and  was  in  Sydney.  He  called  to  see  me,  and  invited  me  to  go  with 
him  to  the  House  of  Parliament,  to  hear  some  very  important  spee<:hes 

on  education.     I  went,  accompanied  by  Mrs.  D ,  and  we   heard 

some  splendid  speaking.     Mr.  W took  us  all  over  the  two  Houses 

of  Parliament.    He  made  himself  very  agreeable.    1  left  Sydney  highly 


388  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

gratified  liy  my  great  success  for  the  Bible  Union,  and  strengthened 
for  my  duties. 

One  very  hot  Sunday  I  was  walking  over  the  rough  road  to  church, 
with  a  white  dress  and  scarlet  scarf  on.  My  scarf  attracted  my  notice, 
the  color  was  so  painfully  glaring  in  the  sunlight.  Living  so  much 
alone,  I  often  communed  with  my  own  heart,  and  perhaps  had  strange 
fancies.  My  scarf  reminded  me  of  the  scarlet  sins  of  the  human  race, 
which  must  be  painfully  glaring  to  the  Son  of  God,  who  knew  no  sin. 
My  white  dress,  pure  and  clean,  reminded  me  of  the  sinless  purity  of 
Christ's  character.  Again  my  scarf  reminded  me  of  Christ's  blood 
that  was  shed  for  my  sins,  to  provide  for  me  the  white  robe  of  his 
righteousness.  I  loved  to  wear  white.  I  went  into  a  house  to  rest, 
where  sat  a  young  lady  from  Sydney.  She  said  she  would  not  walk 
over  such  a  rough  road,  under  such  a  broiling  sun,  six  miles  to  church, 
if  she  were  to  gain  heaven  at  the  end  of  her  walk.  I  told  her  she  could 
not  set  a  very  high  value  upon  her  soul.  I  walked  my  six  miles  to, 
and  six  miles  from,  church,  and  though  I  always  had  blistered  feet  and 
sick  headache,  I  was  always  thankful  to  be  able  to  enjoy  the  privilege 
of  the  Lord's  house. 

My  room  was  finished  and  furnished,  and  I  felt  more  secure  in  the 
"Dove's  Nest"  than  in  the  hut  on  the  hill.  One  day,  when  I  was  pa- 
pering the  little  room,  a  fit  of  weakness  came  over  me,  not  bodily,  but 
mental,  of  which  I  was  heartily  ashamed.  I  was  pasting  old  copy- 
books on  the  openings  of  the  rough  slabs  with  my  hands.  Splinters  ran 
into  my  hands,  and  I  became  very  tired,  when  a  picture  rose  before 
my  mind.  A  large  drawing-room  elegantly  furnished,  with  rich  carpet 
and  curtains,  mirrors  and  chandeHers,  and  white  and  gold  paper.  This 
room  was  but  one  in  a  splendid  mansion,  whose  owner  had  wished  me 
to  accept  his  hand  and  heart,  and  share  with  him  his  beautiful  home. 
I  declined  his  generous  offer,  and  while  I  w^as  pulling  the  splinters  out 
of  my  hands,  I  sat  down  on  the  bare  floor,  and  asked  myself,  why  did 
I  refuse  that,  to  come  to  this?  It  was  a  hard  question.  I  fairly  A'ept 
at  the  contrast  of  what  was,  and  what  might  have  been.  Again  the 
question  came  up,  why  did  I  refuse  the  owner  of  carriages,  horses  and 
an  elegant  home,  with  the  hand  of  a  very  worthy  gentleman?  He  was 
not  a  Christian.  Some  people  might  say,  "was  that  all?"  I  rose  up, 
and  wiped  my  eyes.  I  felt  that  I  had  made  a  sacrifice  for  Christ ;  but 
what  was  that  to  what  he  had  done  for  me.  The  throne,  the  crown  of 
the  universe,  he  had  laid  aside,  and  had  accepted  a  life  of  poverty  and 
privation,  and  a  shameful  death  for  me,  that  I  might  enjoy  an  everlast- 


TEACHING  ON  HURRICANE  HILL,   AND  OTHER  LABORS.  3S9 

ing  mansion  eternal  in  the  heavens.  I  asked  to  be  forgiven  for  looking 
back  to  the  fleshpots  of  Egypt. 

Mr.  M ,  at  whose   house   I   lived,   took   ill,   and   his   wife   was 

alarmed  for  his  life,  as  the  doctor  held  out  no  hope  of  recovery.     Poor 

man,  he  was  neither  ready  nor  willing  to  die.    Poor  Mrs.  M could 

not  read  the  written  instructions  of  the  doctor,  and  could  not  give  the 
medicine  at  the  proper  time,  and  she  was  distressed.  I  told  her  that 
I  would  give  them  all  my  spare  time  out  of  school,  and  help  her  to 
nurse  her  sick  husband.  When  I  closed  school  for  the  holidays,  I  gave 
myself  up  to  nursing.  The  poor  man  was  getting  so  alarmed  at  the 
prospect  of  death,  that  he  wished  me  to  be  in  his  room  all  the  time. 
He  wished  me  to  hear  what  the  doctor  said,  and  tell  him  if  there  was 
any  hope.  I  directed  him  to  the  Great  Physician,  Avho  could  heal  his 
soul,  if  he  would  as  anxiously  and  earnestly  seek  after  Him.  He  could 
give  life  eternal. 

"Och,  I  am  not  fit  to  die." 

"Ask  God,"  I  said,  "to  prepare  you  either  for  living  or  dying." 
He  wished  to  live  to  be  a  better  man;  but  I  told  him  that  if  he  re- 
covered, he  might  do  as  many  others  did— fall  back  into  the  old  ways, 
and  feel  ashamed  of  the  fear  that  he  had  in  his  extremity. 

"Och,  no;  I  will  ne'er  forget,  nor  be  ashamed,  if  God  will  only  let 
me  live  to  prepare  to  die.  Och,  I  can  not  prepare  now.  Dear  Mrs. 
Davies,  ax  God  to  let  me  live." 

The  poor  man  was  in  agony,  both  in  soul  and  body.  I  read  to  him, 
and  prayed,  and  talked  to  him,  and  nursed  him,  and  gave  him  all  the 
comfort  I  could.  But  the  mournful  refrain  was:  "Och,  I'm  afeerd  to 
die;  I  am  not  prepared  to  die;  I  can't  prepare  now."  One  morning 
I  took  my  seat  in  a  corner,  when  the  doctor  came  to  see  the  patient. 
He  left  the  medicine,  and  told  what  symptom  was  to  be  relieved  by  it. 
I  had  noticed  that  all  the* symptoms  had  yielded  to  the  treatment,  and 
wondered  why  the  doctor  never  held  out  hope  to  the  poor  man.  I 
never  had  spoken  to  the  doctor,  but  followed  up  his  instructions  to  the 
letter,  and  began  to  hope  the  sick  man  would  get  well,  in  si)ite  of  the 
ominous  shake  of  the  doctor's  head,  and  his  solemn  looks.  His  orders 
this  day  were  to  apply  leeches  to  the  man's  back,  and  not  to  allow  any 
one  to  enter  the  sick  room,  on  pain  of  causing  the  instant  death  of  the 
man,  and  he  was  to  hear  no  noise  of  any  kind.  The  i)oor  man  felt 
doomed.  He  looked  at  me  almost  despairingly;  but  I  looked  cheer- 
ful, and  reassured  him.      Mrs.  M could  not  put  on  the  leeches, 

and  I  had  never  handled  one  in  my  life,  so  we  thought  some  one  wlu) 


390  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

knew  how  to  apply  them  should  be  sent  for.  But  the  doctor's  orders 
were  emphatic,  no  one  was  to  go  into  his  room,  or  death  might  be  the 

result.     Mrs.  M could  do  nothing  for  her  husband,  and  he  begged 

me  to  apply  the  leeches.  I  turned  sick  at  the  idea,  but  said,  as  cheer- 
fully as  I  could,  I  will  try,  and  it  was  a  great  trial.  I  got  up  on  the 
bed  behind  the  man  with  a  tumbler  full  of  the  snaky-looking  things,  and 
began  to  apply  them.  The  doctor's  orders,  that  no  one  should  disturb 
the  sick,  flew  around  the  neighborhood,  and  was  a  signal  for  all  to 
come  and  see  the  man  die.  I  heard  them  tramping  into  the  kitchen, 
till  it  was  full;  then  the  yard  was  vocal  with  their  loud  noise,  and  two 
loud-tongued  women  came  bouncing  into  the  room.  One  of  them 
screamed  out, 

"Och,  och,  Edward,  yee's  going  to  die,  yees  are,"  and  she  wrung 
her  hands,  and  went  on  louder  with  her  lament. 

The  poor  man  looked  up  in  my  face  in  a  perfect  agony  of  fear; 
great  beads  of  perspiration  stood  on  his  brow.    I  said  very  quietly  that 

Mr.  M was  very  ill,  and  the  doctor  had  said  that  no  one  was  to 

come  into  the  room;  quietness  was  the  only  chance  he  had  for  life. 
This  virago  turned  to  the  other,  and  said : 

"De  yees  hear  dat,"  and  turning  to  me,  she  shook  her  fist  in  my 
face,  and  said,  "If  the  man  died  I  would  be  to  blame;  why  did  not  I 
have  another  doctor." 

"The  man  is  not  getting  the  right  treatment,"  the  other  woman  said^ 

I  asked  her  if  she  knew  the  disease.  She  said  it  was  not  for  her  to 
say  what  was  the  disease. 

Then  I  said,  "It  is  not  for  you  to  talk  of  the  treatment." 

These  two  abused  me,  and  threatened  me  with  the  court,  that  I  was 
helping  the  doctor  to  kill  the  man.  In  the  midst  of  the  hubbub,  a  cry 
in  the  yard,  "The  doctor  is  coming."  The  two  vixens  fled  into  another 
little  room  next  to  the  sick  room,  where  they  could  hear  and  see  every- 
thing that  was  going  on.  The  doctor  heard  the  noise  of  retreating  feet, 
and  came  into  the  room  with  flaming  eyes  and  red  face,  but  saw  no 
one  but  the  sick  man  and  myself.  He  in  a  loud,  stern  tone  asked, 
what  I  was  doing  there.  I  told  him  in  a  very  quiet  tone,  that  I  was 
obeying  his  orders. 

"Who  told  you  to  put  leeches  there?"  he  thundered  out. 

"You  left  orders  to  have  it  done,"  I  said. 

"I  never  did.     You  are  killing  the  man  by  such  treatment." 

I  quickly  took  off  the  leeches,  and  sprang  out  of  the  bed,  and  said 
to  the  doctor:   "If  the  man  dies,  because  leeches  were  put  on  him, 


TEACHING  ON  HURRICANE  HILL,  AND  OTHER  LABORS  391 

you  shall  have  to  account  for  his  death;  for  you  gave  the  order." 

He  raged,  and  stamped  with  his  feet,  and  said  some  very  ugly  things. 
I  told  him  I  had  thought  him  competent  to  attend  this  case,  but  now  I 
altered  my  mind. 

"What  do  you  mean?"  he  roared. 

"I  mean  that  this  morning  you  did  not  know  what  you  were  saying; 
or  if  you  did,  then  you  do  not  now  know  what  you  are  saying  or  doing. 
Your  positive  orders  were  to  put  leeches  on,  and  to  keep  perfect  quiet- 
ness in  the  house — no  noise  to  excite  the  man,  or  he  might  die  at  anv 
moment.  This  evening  you  find  me  carrying  out  your  orders,  and  I 
have  been  trying  to  enforce  quiet.  You  come  and  deny  that  you  gave 
such  orders,  and  practically  set  at  naught  your  own  injunctions,  by 
making  more  noise,  and  creating  more  excitement,  than  has  been  in 
the  house  since  the  man  took  sick.  And  because  I  have  been  follow- 
ing your  instructions  to  the  letter,  I  get  the  low,  vulgar  abuse  of  a  man, 
whose  profession  had  led  me  to  think  he  was  a  gendeman.  In  that, 
as  well  as  in  managing  the  case,  I  am  mistaken.  I  have  till  now  set 
my  face  against  calling  another  doctor.  I  now  recommend  a  consulta- 
tion, or  to  take  the  case  out  of  your  hand  altogether." 

In  a  perfect  storm  of  angCF,  he  stamped  his  foot  and  asked,  "Who 
are  you?" 

"I  am  a  woman,"  I  answered;  "and  if  you  knew  how  to  speak  to 
one,  I  should  be  pleased  to  have  more  to  say  to  you;  as  it  is,  I  shall 
have  nothing  more  to  say  to  you,  or  do  with  your  patient,"  and  I 
walked  out  through  the  crowd  to  my  own  room. 

Mrs.  M came  for  me  after  a  while.     The  doctor  wanted  me,  he 

wished  to  put  himself  in  a  better  light  professionally;  but  I  wished  to 
have  no  more  to  say  to  him,  so  he  left  the  house.  Then  the  women 
came  out,  saying  they  were  glad  the  doctor  scolded  me,  and  they  or- 
dered me  to  send  for  another  doctor.  I  said  I  should  do  no  such 
thing;  I  was  not  the  proper  person  to  do  it;  that  I  had  done  more  for 
their  friend  than  they  had.  I  had  nursed  him  night  and  day  for  weeks, 
now  they  could  nurse  him.     I  had  done  my  part. 

When  the  house  was  cleared,  poor  Mrs.  M came  to  me  in  great 

distress,  begging  me  not  to  give  her  poor  sick  man  up  because  of  that 
scolding  doctor  and  the  two  bad-tongucd  women.  She  said  nobody 
else  could  do  anything  with  him  or  for  him  but  me,  and  he  would  die 
sure  enough  if  I  gave  him  up.     I  went  in  to  see  him. 

"Och,  och,"  he  groaned,  and  burst  into  tears,  and  said,  "Dear  Mrs. 


392 


THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 


Davies,  don't  lave  me;  don't  give  me  up.  Och,  don't  lave  me,  and 
God  will  bless  you  shure." 

I  told  him  to  cheer  up,  I  was  sure  he  would  get  better,  and  I  would 
not  leave  him.  Early  next  morning  the  doctor  came,  accompanied  by 
Mr.  CJ — .  I  was  called,  not  to  consult  with  the  doctor,  but  to  receive 
a  thousand  and  one  apologies  from  the  blandest  and  politest  of  doctors. 

"I  did  not  know  who  you  were,  or  I  should  never  have  spoken  to 

you  as  I  did.    I  told  Mr.  G last  evening  that  I  had  seen  a  stranger 

at  this  house  and  did  not  know  who  she  was.     When  Mr.  G told 

me  who  you  were,  I  was  mortified,  and  do  feel  sorry  for  my  conduct. 
I  brought  Mr.  G —  with  me  to  plead  for  my  pardon." 

I  told  him  I  had  nothing  to  forgive,  he  had  only  placed  himself  in 

an  unfavorable  light.     The  doctor's  manner  told  Mr.  M as  usual 

that  he  was  worse,  but  I  told  him  he  was  better,  and  he  got  well  very 
rapidly.  I  read  the  Bible  for  him,  and  talked  to  him  of  God's  good- 
ness to  him,  and  he  made  many  professions  and  promises  of  amend- 
ment when  he  got  well,  and  he  has  kept  them  to  the  present  day, 
though  many  years  have  passed  since  that  time. 

The  doctor  sent  his  wife  and  daughter  to  see  me.     Mrs.  H was 

a  very  elegant  lady,  and  his  daughter  a  sweet  young  girl.  I  returned 
their  call  after  a  long  time.  They  were  very  pressing  in  their  invita- 
tion to  have  me  call  at  their  house  and  rest  as  I  went  to  and  from 
Kiama.  I  was  waylaid  sometimes  on  Sunday,  and  compelled  to  go 
in,  and  though  I  was  an  unwilling  guest  at  first,  I  found  the  fomily  so 
very  agreeable  that  we  became  great  friends,  and  our  friendship  con- 
tinued many  years,  till  we  were  separated  by  thousands  of  miles.  The 
doctor  was  as  kind  and  gentlemanly  as  could  be,  though  our  introduc- 
tion was  so  strange. 

Our  little  church  at  Kiama  took  a  backward  step.  Some  Calvinistic 
Baptists  joined  it,  and  tried  to  bring  their  influence  against  the  Scrip- 
tural breaking  of  the  loaf  every  Lord's  day,  and  succeeded  in  tinging 
some  one  or  two  of  the  members  with  Calvinism.  One  old  couple 
had  joined  who  were  very  deeply  prejudiced  against  anything  but  the 
hard-to-believe  doctrines  of  Calvin.  On  coming  out  of  church  one 
day  she  handed  me  a  pamphlet,  and  asked  me  if  I  had  lent  it  to  Mr. 
H ?  I  said  I  had  lent  it,  and  many  others.  This  one  was,  Sin- 
cerity Seeking  the  Way  to  Heaven.  She  said,  with  some  bitterness, 
"That  book  ought  to  be  burned,  and  all  others  like  it."  She  said 
I  ought  to  be  ashamed  to  introduce  such  heretical  works.  I  told 
her   I   was  not  at  all  ashamed,  and  would  do   all   I   could  to  en- 


TEACHING  ON  HURRICANE  HILL,  AND  OTHER  LABORS.  393 

lighten  the  people  more,  by  lending  others.  She  said  I  ought  to  be 
turned  out  of  the  church,  and  said  she  would  do  all  in  her  power  to 
oppose  me,  and  she  would  burn  all  the  books  that  I  lent  that  she  could 
get  her  hands  on.  I  told  her  I  hoped  she  would  pay  for  them,  and  T 
could  send  for  more. 

We  had  another  of  the  fearful  storms  that  spread  desolation  and 
death  around — tropical  floods  sweeping  everything  before  them.  The 
elements  waged  a  fearful  war  for  more  than  a  week.  The  damage 
done  was  incalculable.  People  killed  by  lightning  ;  houses  and  farms 
and  farm  implements,  with  cattle,  horses,  hogs,  sheep,  and  the  inhab- 
itants, swept  down  with  resistless  force  to  the  ocean  by  the  merciless 
floods.  A  few  weeks  ago,  or  even  days,  where  was  a  flourishing  farm, 
with  waving  crops  of  grain,  cattle  pasturing,  a  large  dairy,  a  comfort- 
able dwelling-house,  barns  well  filled,  and  everything  prospering,  there 
was  now  nothing  to  be  seen  but  the  naked,  barren  rock  exposed  to 
view.  All  above,  around,  below,  had  been  visited  by  this  terrific 
deluge.  Nothing  so  wide-spread,  so  devastating,  had  ever  been 
known  here.  Mothers,  trying  to  save  their  children  by  crossing  a 
stream  to  get  to  a  safer  spot,  had  the  children  torn  from  their  arms 
by  the  rushing  waters,  bearing  them  to  the  ocean.  People  on  top  of 
hay-stacks,  who  had  sought  safety  there,  were  being  swept  to  the  sea 
without  the  power  to  save  themselves.  Sometimes  these  stacks  would 
split  in  the  middle,  and  down  sank  the  shrieking  people  into  the  roar- 
ing torrent  ere  they  reached  the  sea.  The  coast  for  miles  and  miles 
was  strewn  with  wrecked  houses,  furniture,  pianos  and  dairy  utensils, 
horses,  hogs,  cattle,  sheep  and  human  beings,  all  washed  up  together  in 
heaps.  The  low  lands  of  several  districts  were  under  water.  Steamers 
from  Sydney  came  down  and  sailed  over  the  farms  and  picked  up  here 
and  there  a  survivor.  Seventy  half  nude  people  were  saved  off  an 
island  at  the  mouth  of  the  Shoalhaven  River,  who  had  been  washed 
down  from  the  higher  regions.  Had  these  not  been  providentially 
seen,  they  would  have  perished  of  hunger  and  cold.  They  had  lost 
everything  they  possessed  on  earth.  All  the  bridges  over  all  the  rivers 
were  washed  away.  Fences,  walls  and  the  crops  inclosed,  were  all  swej)! 
away,  and  the  whole  country  for  hundreds  of  square  miles  laid  waste, 
and  the  outlet  of  the  rivers  blocked  up  with  the  debris.  The  district 
was  cut  off  from  all  communication  with  other  places.  The  house 
where  I  dwelt  was  built  in  a  valley,  and  we  saw  the  swollen  mountain 
torrents  rushing  down  upon  us,  laden  with  stones  and  heavy  timber, 
with  fearful  velocity,  rumbling  and  tuml)ling  at  a  great  rale.     Nothing 


394  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

could  impede  the  i^rogress  of  the  angry  waters;  every  obstacle  was 
hurled  down,  and  we  thought  our  destruction  inevitable;  but  just  as 
\ve  expected  the  crash  the  waters  divided,  and  made  a  deep  channel 
at  each  side  of  the  house,  and  went  roaring  by,  leaving  us  on  a  Uttle 
island,  not  high  and  dry,  but  out  of  danger.  The  rain  poured  out  of 
the  clouds  as  if  it  would  drown  us.  But  we  were  saved,  and  thanked 
God  for  our  preservation.  Subscriptions  were  taken  up  everywhere 
for  the  destitute.  I  had  my  scholars  to  give  something.  A  corre- 
spondent wrote  to  the  local  paper  a  report  which  pleased  the  children 
when  I  read  it  to  them : 

It  pleases  me  to  tell  that  the  children  of  Mount  Pleasant  school  have  subscribed 
the  sum  of  ^i.  5s.  lod.  (^6.50)  toward  the  Shoalhaven  Relief  Fund.  This 
is  a  ready  response  to  a  mention  of  the  matter  by  their  respected  teacher,  Mrs. 
Davies,  who  also  told  them  that  as  their  parents  had  already  given  to  the  same 
fund  that  they  were  not  to  ask  for  money,  but  they,  the  children,  were  to  seek 
opportunities  to  earn  money,  if  it  were  ever  so  little  a  sum;  and  it  was  in  this 
way,  gathering  eggs,  and  doing  little  extra  jobs,  that  the  money  was  earned.  And 
thus  the  children  learned  a  practical  lesson  in  two  important  elements  of  educa- 
tion, viz.:  benevolence  and  industry.  J.  B. 

How  awfully  grand  to  see  old  ocean  in  a  fury.  Sometimes  he  is  so 
for  a  week.  Just  before  the  devastating  floods  and  the  hurricane  men- 
tioned above,  I  saw  from  my  hut  window  on  the  hill  an  awe-inspiring 
sight.  Two  gigantic  pillars  stood  on  the  sea,  their  bases  resting  on 
the  water,  embedded  in  foam,  their  capitals  supporting  the  sky  and 
enveloped  in  a  cloud  black  as  night.  They  seemed  for  a  time  motion- 
less, then  they  broke  in  the  middle  and  were  absorbed  by  the  cloud 
above  and  the  foam  beneath.  These  were  waterspouts,  the  first  I 
had  ever  seen.  They  were  the  forerunners  of  the  fearful  hurricane 
that  was  so  destructive. 

Another  beautiful,  awe-inspiring  sight  was  seen  one  night,  and  it 
very  much  alarmed  the  people.  The  Aurora  Australis  presented  a 
scene  of  surpassing  magnificence.  It  was  bright,  like  crimson.  A 
mass  of  light  poured  through  the  transparent  curtain,  and  the  stars 
seemed  to  project  and  hang  down  as  on  clear  nights,  when  the  celestial 
bodies  appeared  to  be  suspended  from  the  deep  blue  canopy. 

Mr.  M rose  from  his  sick-bed  a  better  man.     A  family  Bible 

was  bought,  and  a  chapter  was  read  every  night,  and  prayer  was  offered 
in  the  family.  I  taught  a  grown  son  and  a  servant  girl  at  night,  and 
kept  up  my  long  walks  for  the  Bible  Union  on  Saturday  and  to  church 
on  Sunday,     My  letters  from  American  friends  all  wished  me  to  leave, 


TEACHING  ON  HURRICANE  HILL,   AND  OTHER  LABORS.  395 

•  but  without  a  ship  this  was  impossible.  I  was  suppHed  with  fresh 
boxes  of  publications  from  the  American  Bible  Union,  and  Mr.  Ed- 
munds wished  me  to  go  to  Melbourne,  where  I  would  have  cultivated 
society. 

"God  did  not  make  you  to  live  in  solitude,"  he  said;  "your  devo- 
tion to  the  cause  of  pure  versions  of  God's  word  under  so  great  dis- 
advantages excites  our  admiration." 

The  year  that  I  had  promised  to  remain  at  Hurricane  Hill  School 
was  at  an  end,  and  as  my  American  friends  wished  me  to  go  to  Mel- 
bourne, and  introduce  the  new  version  there,  I  gave  notice  that  I 
should  have  a  public  examination  of  my  school.  I  invited  gentlemen 
who  had  been  most  indifferent  to  my  work  among  the  poor,  and  those 
most  opposed  to  it,  besides  the  parents  of  the  scholars,  to  come  and 
examine  my  school.  The  result  is  described  in  the  following  article 
from  the  Illawarra  Me7xury. 

Want  of  schools  in  the  district  has  been  a  great  evil  for  a  long  time.  So  far  as 
this  evil  could  be  averted  by  one  school,  and  that  conducted  by  a  lady,  it  has 
been  by  that  of  Mount  Pleasant,  as  an  examination  held  on  Wednesday  fully 
proved.  The  teacher,  Mrs.  Davies,  being  about  to  leave  there,  was  desirous  of 
having  a  public  examination,  and  the  children  and  their  parents  resolved  on  add- 
ing a  social  tea-meeting  to  the  "stranger,"  who  for  two  years  has  lived  and  la- 
bored among  them.  Materials  for  tables  were  carried  a  long  way,  and  a  variety 
of  softer  and  sweeter  material  underwent  curious  processes  preparatory  to  appear- 
ing on  said  tables. 

The  day  was  fine,  the  school-room  was  decorated,  and  the  scholars  were  exam- 
ined on  all  the  useful  branches  they  had  been  taught.  The  teacher  examined 
them  on  Bible  history,  grammar,  punctuation,  etc.  Rev.  Mr.  Ashwin  had  a  class, 
trying  them  severely  on  geography,  history,  and  the  products  of  different  coun- 
tries. In  everything  on  which  tliey  were  tried  they  acquitted  themselves  admir- 
ably. Two  large,  handsome  samplers,  elegantly  framed,  hung  against  the  wall. 
On  a  table  were  spread  several  pieces  of  fancy-work,  showing  much  taste  in  de- 
sign, as  well  as  skill  in  the  working,  and  altogetlicr  forming  a  beautiful  di>-i)Iay 
that  would  do  credit  to  any  school.  About  2  o'clock  P.  M.  the  tables  were  sprea<l. 
The  cakes  were  abundant  and  of  first  quality.  *  *  *  On  the  hillside 
the  boys  enjoyed  a  scramble  for  oranges.  No  doubt  the  scramble  made  the  fruit 
taste  all  the  sweeter.  After  tea  the  elder  scholars  read  essays,  which  were  well 
written,  alternating  with  recitations  pleasingly  delivered,  some  of  them  causing 

much  amusement.     Mr.  G examined  the  school  on  arithmetic,  and  was  well 

pleased  with  their  proficiency. 

Mrs.  Davies  read  a  farewell  address,  impressing  on  her  pupils  the  necessity  of 
carrying  onward  for  themselves  the  education  of  which  only  llic  seeds  could  be 
sown  at  school  by  the  teacher.  To  the  jjarcnts  she  spoke  forcibly  of  the  iinpor- 
tance  of  home  influence  in  forming  the  character  of  youth,  and  most  affeclionalely 


396  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

exhorted  her  children  to  remember  the  religious  instruction,  which,  with  earnesi 
prayer  and  desire  for  their  eternal  welfare,  she  had  striven  to  impart  to  them. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Ashwin  addressed  the  meeting,  praising  in  highest  terms  Mrs. 
Davies'  teaching,  shown  by  its  fruits  in  the  very  creditable  acquirements  of  her 
scholars.  He  wished  very  much  that  we  could  secure  such  a  teacher;  saying  noth. 
ing  but  the  finger  of  God  in  Providence,  plainly  pointing  to  her  to  go,  as  having 
her  work  done  here,  could  justify  her  leaving,  or  the  parents  allowing  her  to  go. 

Rev.  Mr.  Wilson  followed  with  a  very  interesting  address.      Mr.  ratified  all 

that  the  other  speakers  had  said  in  praise  of  the  teacher  and  her  teaching.  And 
the  pleasant  day  terminated  with  an  appropriate  prayer  by  Mr.  Ashwin.  Some 
five  or  six  of  the  leading  persons  present  had  a  consultation  with  Mrs.  Davies  on 
the  possibility  of  keeping  her  a  few  months  longer,  till  the  National  School-House 
was  ready  for  use.  I  hope  they  will  succeed  in  securing  the  services  of  this  teacher 
of  acknowledged  merit. 

I  had  invited  all  the  gentlemen  to  the  examination  who  had  first  op- 
posed me,  and  who  had  thrown  obstacles  in  my  way,  and  surrounded 
me  with  difiiculties,  that  they  hoped  would  be  insurmountable.  These 
had  watched  me  closely  for  two  years,  and  now  they  closely  examined 
the  work  I  had  been  doing,  and  their  prejudices  were  disarmed.  I 
examined  the  scholars  on  Bible  questions,  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  those 
who  had  wished  me  to  teach  the  Church  of  England,  Church  of  Scot- 
land, Church  of  Wesley  and  Church  of  Rome  catechisms. 

I  asked  a  Roman  Catholic  boy  if  the  bread  that  Christ  broke  at  the 
last  supper  was  his  body.     The  prompt  answer  was, 

"No." 

I  said,  "Why,  you  know  that  our  Lord  said  himself,  'This  is  my 
body,  broken  for  you;  eat  you  all  of  it.'  " 

"Yes,"  said  the  boy;  "but  that  was  a  figure  of  speech;  the  bread 
was  a  symbol  of  his  body.  He  was  outside  of  the  bread  when  he  brake 
it,  yet  he  said,  'This  is  my  body.'  " 

"Do  you  think,  when  Christ  did  not  put  himself  into  the  bread,  any 
one  else  ought  to  do  it." 

"No,"  said  the  boy;  "and  if  they  tried,  they  could  not  do  it,  for 
Christ  is  in  heaven  now,  and  they  can  not  get  to  hiui." 

"Well,  suppose  they  could  put  Christ's  body  into  the  bread,  and  his 
blood  into  the  wine,  and  this  was  to  be  eaten  and  drunk  at  the  Lord's 
table,  what  would  you  think  of  it?" 

"Why,"  said  the  boy,  "those  who  ate  and  drank  would  be  cannibals 
sure." 

"Did  Christ  ever  teach  cannibalism?" 

"Oh,  no." 


TEACHING  ON  HURRICANE  HILL,   AND  OTHER  LABORS.  397 

"You  are  laying  a  bad  foundation  for  that  boy's  profession,"  said  a 
gentleman  present. 

I  asked  what  was  to  be  his  profession. 

"He  has  been  consecrated  and  set  apart  for  the  Roman  priest's  office." 

"Suffer  little  children  to  come  unto  me,  and  forbid  them  not,"  is  a 
divine  injunction,  and  I  am  trying  to  bring  them  to  him  by  removing 
obstacles.  I  went  to  that  boy's  house  one  day  after  that,  and  found 
the  father,  an  intelligent  Romanist,  poring  over  the  Bible. 

I  closed  school,  but  ere  I  could  get  away,  they  had  my  consent  to 
reopen  school  till  Christmas  at  least.  I  said  I  would  remain,  if  no  ship 
should  sail  to  America  before  that  time.  I  hated  to  leave  my  children 
without  a  teacher,  and  when  the  new  school-house  was  built  they  would 
have  one;  so  I  gave  them  a  little  more  of  my  time. 

On  the  night  after  my  school  closed  for  a  week,  we  were  talking,  and 
listening  to  a  howling  storm,  when  a  loud  cry  of  distress  alarmed  us. 
We  ran  to  the  door  to  listen,  when  the  cry  continued.     A  man  had 

come  for  some  one  to  go  to  Mrs.  B ,  who  was  dying.     It  was  so 

dark,  and  the  rain  pouring  down,  he  could  not  reach  the  house.  I 
said  I  would  go  with  him.  The  storm  was  howling  at  such  a  rate,  that 
nothing  but  a  case  of  life  and  death  would  have  taken  me  out  on  such 

a  night.     Mr.  M accompanied  me  to  the  house  with  a  lantern. 

We  had  to  cHmb  hills,  wade  across  creeks,  and  get  over  and  under 
fences  as  best  we  could,  till  we  reached  where  the  sick  woman  lay. 
She  was  lying  in  the  midst  of  filth  and  dirt,  all  unconscious  of  her  state. 
Several  women  of  the  lowest  kind  were  in  the  house  helping  themselves 
to  whatever  suited  them,  to  the  total  neglect  of  the  poor  woman.  Not 
one  seemed  to  have  a  thought  of  her.  This  young  sick  woman,  when 
in  health,  did  not  care  for  those  around  her;  now  she  was  sick,  and 
she  was  neglected.  When  I  went  in,  and  saw  how  matters  were,  I  put 
the  things  to  rights  a  little,  and  had  the  bed  made  comfortable  for  the 
poor  creature.  I  then  told  the  people  that  I  would  release  them  for 
the  night,  as  I  intended  sitting  up  all  night— they  could  go  home, 
every  one  of  them,  as  I  preferred  sitting  alone.  An  outcry  was  raised 
at  this,  as  they  all  had  prepared  for  a  good  time  feasting  that  night. 

They  said  that  if  Mrs.  B took  a  convulsion,  I  could  not  hold  her. 

I  told  them  that,  as  they  all  lived  near,  if  I  needed  help  I  would  call 
them;  but  I  insisted  on  being  left  alone  with  the  sick  woman.  I  took 
up  my  lonely  watch  by  the  sick  bed,  listening  to  the  howling  storm 
without,  and  every  blast  that  came  sweeping  past  swcj)!  through  the 
open  slabs  of  the  house,  and  ere  the  morning  dawned,  1  was  stiff  with 


398  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

cold;  my  limbs  were  cramped.  I  had  passed  a  dreary  night,  but  I  felt 
that  I  had  performed  a  Christian  duty  to  a  poor  woman;  I  had  soothed 
and  quieted  her  in  her  ravings  and  tossings.  While  moistening  the 
lips  of  the  poor  sufferer,  I  prayed  to  my  heavenly  Father,  that  he  would 
raise  up  friends  for  me  in  my  hour  of  need.  I  sat  up  with  this  woman 
five  nights  and  most  of  the  days,  until  she  was  out  of  danger.  Her  life 
had  hung  upon  a  hair  all  the  time.  She  had  a  husband  and  child,  who 
were  wrapped  up  in  her  life,  and  I  did  what  I  could  for  them.     When 

Mrs.  B recovered  her  consciousness,  she  asked  me  what  I  was 

doing  there.     I  told  her  I  had  been  nursing  her.    Again  she  asked: 

"Why  did  jou  nurse  me?     Did  any  one  ask  you  to  nurse  me?" 

"No  one  asked  me  to  nurse  you,"  I  said;  "but  you  needed  nursing 
and  watching,  and  God  put  it  into  my  heart  to  do  what  I  could  for  you." 

She  was  overwhelming  in  her  thanks  to  me.  I  directed  her  mind 
to  her  loving  Lord,  who  had  raised  up  a  friend  for  her  in  her  time  of 
need,  and  who  had  given  her  back  her  life,  when  she  had  been  given 
up  to  die  by  the  doctor  and  all  her  friends.  God  had  saved  her  life, 
that  she  might  have  time  to  look  to  him  for  the  saving  of  her  soul. 
Physically  I  was  quite  prostrated  by  my  long,  cold  and  lonely  vigils, 
but  I  was  strengthened  spiritually. 

I  took  another  trip  to  Sydney.     Mrs.  D had  written  that  she 

was  about  to  leave  Sydney  for  a  distant  part  of  the  colony,  and  she 
thought  we  might  never  meet  again;  so  I  went  to  see  her.  Meantime 
more  books  came.  I  took  a  portion  of  them  to  Sir  Wm.  Denison;  had 
a  pleasant  interview  with  him,  and  a  long  conversation. 

I  had  sent  for  several  copies  of  Hadji  in  Syria,  by  Miss  Sallie  Bar- 
clay.     I  left  a  copy  as  a  present  for  Lady  Denison  with  the  governor. 

She  wrote  a  beautiful  letter  of  thanks.     Mr.  M ,  the  American 

Consul,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  W ,  were  all  thoroughly  interested  in 

my  work,  and  said  they  would  do  all  they  could  for  the  work  at  Syd- 
ney, while  I  was  working  at  lUawarra.  I  returned  to  my  work  after 
a  pleasant  visit  to  Sydney. 

A  note  in  my  journal  reads:  "October  15,  i860.  Those  who  enjoy 
church  privileges  at  their  very  door,  or  have  a  conveyance  to  take  them 
there,  ought  to  prize  the  privilege.  My  twelve  miles'  walk  every  Lord's 
day  makes  me  always  very  sick,  and  to  save  myself  a  little  (I  was  not 
well  enough  to  walk  the  whole  distance),  I  started  on  Saturday,  think- 
ing to  stay  all  night  at  Kiama.  But  I  was  taken  suddenly  ill  on  the 
road;  had  to  go  into  a  house  to  recover  myself  a  little.  I  grew  worse, 
and  had  to  stay  there  all  night,  to  my  own  and  the  people's  great  in- 


TEACHING  ON  HURRICANE  HILL,   AND  OTHER  LABORS.  399 

convenience.     I  was  not  able  to  walk  to  church  on  Sunday,  or  yet  to 

walk  home,  and  I  had  no  one  to  carry  a  message  to  Mr.  M 's  for 

me,  to  tell  them  where  I  was.  I  did  not  reach  home  till  Tuesday.  I 
was  very  weak,  but  I  went  to  work." 

On  the  28th,  I  witnessed  a  pleasant  sight,  a  father  baptizing  a  son. 
Bright  sunshine  ushered  in  the  morn;  but  while  our  little  church  was 
at  worship,  thick,  dark  clouds  gathered  overhead,  and  forth  flashed 
the  forked  lightning,  the  thunder  roared,  and  the  rain  fell  in  torrents. 
One  of  our  storms  had  burst  overhead,  but  it  did  not  hinder  the  prep- 
aration for  baptism.  A  beautiful  secluded  spot  on  the  beach,  where 
a  murmuring  brook  emptied  itself  into  the  sea,  was  the  place  selected. 
From  our  feet  far  away  to  the  horizon  stretched  the  imperial  Pacific. 
The  sea  lay  like  a  hushed  child  on  a  mother's  breast,  sobbing  out  its 
moans  after  a  stormy  passion,  trying  how  quiet  he  could  be.  The 
clouds  rolled  back,  and  kept  within  their  heavy  folds  for  a  while  the 
rain  that  had  been  falling.  The  clear  blue  sky  looked  lovingly  down 
from  above  between  the  cloudy  pillars;  a  perfect  calm  pervaded  earth 
and  air.  We  were  in  a  small  bight,  a  semicircle  of  rocks  covered 
from  base  to  top  with  a  wild,  luxuriant  growth  of  evergreen,  one  tree 
rising  above  another,  till  the  topmost  seemed  to  kiss  the  sky,  and  these 
all  reflected  from  the  crystal  brook.  The  rocks  and  trees,  and  their 
reflected  heights  and  depths,  presented  a  huge  wall  that  shut  the  world 
out.  In  this  secluded  spot,  seldom  visited  by  man,  sat  a  number  of 
persons  on  trunks  of  trees,  to  witness  the  impressive  rite.  Father  and 
son  emerged  from  a  tent;  they  both  went  down  into  the  water.     Mr. 

H said  he  was  about  to  baptize  his  son,  and  now  brother,  beneath 

the  yielding  wave,  and  raise  him  up  again,  fit  emblem  of  our  buried 
and  risen  Lord.  A  few  more  appropriate  remarks  were  listened  to 
with  profound  attention,  and  then  the  father  immersed  the  son  into  the 
name  of  the  Father,  the  Son  and  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  ceremony  over, 
the  company  dispersed,  and  were  hardly  under  shelter,  when  the  clouds 
let  down  their  contents  in  a  perfect  deluge. 

I  dined  with  my  friend  Mr.  H and  family.     He  had  joined  us 

from  the  Church  of  England.  I  supplied  both  father  and  son  with 
Mr.  Campbell's  works,  and  they  read  them  with  the  Bible  in  their 
hands.  The  Bible  was  read  much  more  among  those  who  could  read 
now  than  formerly.  I  went  home  and  wrote  a  very  long  letter  to  my 
young  friend,  to  hold  fast  to  the  faith  he  had  profes.sed,  and  in  the 
batde  of  life  to  be  faithful  to  his  Lord.  I  called  to  see  this  family  a 
few  weeks  later,     Mr.  H was  a  highly  educated  gentleman,  a 


400  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

devoted  Christian  and  a  great  reader,  as  was  his  young  son.     Mrs. 

H had  been  sick,  and  had  heard  more  Bible  reading  and  other 

profitable  reading  than  ever  she  had  heard  before,  and  when  I  went 

tliere  we  always  had  up  some  for  a  friendly  discussion.     Mr.  H 

had  been  elected  to  the  office  of  elder  in  our  little  church,  and  he 
exhorted  most  eloquently,  but  he  could  never  persuade  his  wife  to  go 
to  meeting;  however,  she  took  sick  and  had  time  to  think.  This  day 
I  was  glad  to  see  her  up,  and  when  I  asked  how  she  was,  she  rejoiced 
my  heart  when  she  said: 

''My  dear,  through  grace  I  have  found  my  Savior." 

I  clasped  her  hand;  I  could  do  no  more.  I  felt  that  now  I  had 
found  a  sister,  for  she  said  that  as  soon  as  she  was  well  she  purposed 
making  a  public  confession  of  her  faith  in  Christ,  and  to  be  baptized. 
The  prayers  that  had  been  put  up  for  her  conversion,  had  been  heard 
and  answered,  for  she  was  converted  from  the  extreme  of  worldliness 
to  be  a  humble-minded  Christian.  What  happiness  to  her  husband  to 
go  with  him,  hand  in  hand,  and  lead  their  children  to  heaven.  A 
few  days  more  and  I  was  by  the  side  of  my  friend,  my  new-found  sis- 
ter; but  she  had  gone  to  sleep,  that  dreamless  sleep  that  knows  no 
waking,  till  the  archangel's  trump  shall  rouse  the  dead  at  the  last  day. 
A  solemn  sadness  steals  over  me  now  as  I  take  a  retrospective  view  of 
the  mournful  scene.  The  wail  of  the  motherless  children!  Oh,  how 
I  love  and  respect  children  for  the  great  love  the  Savior  had  for  them. 
He  said  of  them,  "of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  God." 

Mrs.  H had  many  virtues,  and  her  loss  to  the  family  was  great. 

I  wrote  an  obituary,  but  did  not  send  it  to  the  paper,  hoping  that  some 
pen  of  a  ready  writer  would  do  her  greater  justice,  but  as  no  one 
wrote,  I  sent  mine  for  publication  a  few  weeks  afterward,  signed,  "A 
Stranger." 

Everywhere  I  went  I  heard  discussions  about  the  national  school, 

whether  should  they  have  the  Bible  in  the  school  or  not.     Mr.  G 

violently  opposed  the  Bible  in  schools. 

I  thought  at  this  time  to  write,  A  Word  for  the  Bible  ;  and  I  wrote  a 
long  article  advocating  the  proper  use  of  the  Bible  in  schools,  which 
drew  forth  much  discussion  and  criticism.  I  also  wrote  an  article,  A 
Word  for  Wo7nan,  which  created  quite  a  furor  among  the  men  of  my 
neighborhood;  they  said: 

"Whoever  the  stranger  was,  he  wanted  to  have  the  women  edu- 
cated; then  they  would  have  no  one  to  milk  the  cows  or  churn  the 
butter,  when  the  women  were  all  ladies." 


TEACHING  ON  HURRICANE  HILL,   AND  OTHER  LABORS.  40I 

"No,"  said  they,  "we  will  not  make  our  wives  anything  but  what 
they  are  fit  for." 

And  said  one,  "If  I  knew  when  that  stranger  would  be  here,  I 
would  have  him  drummed  out  of  the  district." 

I  asked  who  the  stranger  was,  very  innocently.  One  said  he  was  a 
lawyer  from  Sydney;  another  said  he  was  a  minister  from  Shoalhaven. 
Only  one  in  the  district  guessed  who  the  stranger  was,  and  he  was  a 
correspondent  of  the  paper. 

Our  little  church  now  met  at  the  house  of  the  old  Baptist  couple 
who  were  so  stern  in  manner.  I  had  closed  school  on  Hurricane  Hill 
finally,  and  was  winding  up  my  affairs,  and  packing  my  goods  and 
chattels.  I  asked  the  church  for  a  letter  of  commendation,  and  they 
wrote  a  most  kind  and  affectionate  one,  introducing  me  to  the  churches 
I  purposed  visiting  to  introduce  the  new  translation.  I  was  going 
direct  to  Melbourne  on  my  way  home,  to  do  for  the  Bible  Union  what 

I  could,  as  they  so  earnestly  requested  me.     Mrs.  E said,  when 

my  letter  was  read  to  me,  before  handing  it  to  me : 

"I  object  to  that  letter;  for  you  have  not  said  a  single  word  about 
the  church  she  is  leaving.  This  is  a  particular  Baptist  Church  and 
she  is  a  particular  Baptist,  and  she  must  not  hand  her  letter  to  any  but 
a  particular  Baptist  Church." 

I  asked  the  presiding  elder  if  he  would  allow  me  to  speak  to  him  ? 

He  bowed, 

**I  am  a  Christian,  and  I  joined  the  Christian  Church  at  Kiama, 
which  this  church  was  then  called,  and  I  did  not  know  that  it  had 
changed  its  name  as  it  had  done  its  place  of  meeting.  I  am  not  a 
Baptist,  nor  do  I  know  the  meaning  of  particular  Baptist." 

Mrs.  E turned  to  me  and  said,  with  great  warmth : 

"Are  you  ashamed  of  the  name  Baptist?" 

I  said  I  was  not  a  Baptist.  She  asked  me  how  I  could  say  so.  I 
told  her  I  had  never  baptized  any  person. 

"Well,"  she  said,  "you  shall  not  get  that  letter  from  this  church. 
Why,  it  would  introduce  you  to  every  kind  of  church,  Methodist, 
Episcopal,  Presbyterian,"  and,  I  put  in,  "Roman  Catholic." 

"Yes,"  said  the  irate  old  lady,  "and  to  the  Campbellitc  Church, 
which  is  worse  than  they  all." 

Said  the  presiding  elder,  ironically:  "As  you  consider  yourself  an 
elder,  what  kind  of  a  letter  would  you  write?" 

She  told  them;  and  I  said  such  a  letter  I  would  not  accept.  I  said 
I  was  going  to  travel  in  the  interests  of  the  American  Bible  Union, 
26 


402  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

and  I  must  be  left  at  liberty  to  present  my  church  letter  to  any  church 
to  which  I  wished  to  introduce  the  new  translation ;  and  if  the  Chris- 
tian Church,  of  which  I  was  a  member,  gave  me  a  letter,  well;  if  not, 
I  should  go  without  one.  I  would  not  accept  of  a  letter  from  a  par- 
ticular Baptist  Church  as  a  member  of  that  church.  I  had  a  prOper 
letter  given  to  me  after  some  delay. 

I  had  a  very  handsome  testimonial  presented  to  me  by  the  trustees 

of  the  school.     From.  Mr.  also  I  had  a  very  flattering  one.    Mr. 

Barnier  and  Rev.  Mr.  Ashwin  both  gave  testimonials  of  the  very 
highest  order.     I  parted  with  all  on  the  best  of  terms. 

Sir  Wm.  Denison  was  appointed  to  be  Governor  of  India.  I  wrote 
a  farewell  letter  to  him,  and  in  answer  he  wrote  the  following : 

Government  House,  Sydney,  January,  1861. 
Dear  Madam : — I  am   truly  grateful  to  you  for  your  good  wishes  and  prayers 
for  myself  and  family.     These  are  gifts  which  every  one  can  bestow,  which  are 
of  the  highest  value  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  I  trust,  are  fully  appreciated  by 
me.     *    *     * 

With  every  good  wish,  believe  me  yours  very  truly, 

William  Denison, 

I  gave  in  a  newspaper  article  the  following  parting  advice  to  the 
people  of  Gerringong  and  surrounding  neighborhoods: 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Kiama  Examiner : 

Sir: — Some  time  ago  I  wrote  A  Word  for  the  Bible,  as  a  book  for  all  time,  all 
places,  all  people,  all  nations  and  all  circumstances.  Now,  some  men  who  hold 
the  responsible  situation  of  training  the  immortal  mind,  say,  "It  is  not  right  to 
cram  the  Bible  down  children's  throats."  Let  such  men,  however,  read  and  well 
digest  what  that  good  man  Dr.  Chever  wrote  about  the  Bible  and  children,  and 
see  if  they  are  not  to  feed  the  children  with  the  sincere  milk  of  the  word,  that 
they  may  grow  thereby.  And  so  may  the  Lord  prosper  them  in  their  work, 
prays  the  children's  friend.  A  Stranger. 

Gerringong,  January,  1861. 

My  Dove's  Nest  had  been  a  perfect  museum  and  taxidermist's  shop. 
I  had  preserved  specimens  of  almost  every  animal  indigenous  to 
lUawarra,  a  great  variety  of  birds  and  insects.  Also,  I  had  sections 
of  different  kinds  of  wood,  shells,  seaweed  and  fossils,  that  I  had  split 
great  rocks  to  get  at.  I  had  them  all  labeled.  I  had  them  examined 
by  a  first-class  naturalist,  who  pronounced  them  all  "well  preserved." 
Then  I  had  them  packed  in  an  air-tight  case.  Collecting  and  preserv- 
ing took  eighteen  months'  time,  but  I  was  highly  gratified  at  my  com- 
j)lete  success  in  both  departments. 


TEACHING  ON  HURRICANE  HILL,   AND  OTHER  LABORS.  403 

I  was  electrified  when  Mr.  H proposed  marriage  to  me  just  as  I 

was  ready  to  start  on  my  voyage  to  Melbourne,  from  there  to  take  ship 

for  America.     Mr.  H 's  wife  had  not  been  dead  six  months,  and  I 

was  shocked  at  his  asking  me  to  marry  him  so  soon  after  her  death,  and 
as  I  had  never  thought  of  Mr.  H in  any  other  light  than  a  high- 
toned  Christian  brother,  I  felt  it  was  impossible  to  give  up  my  loner 
cherished  plans,  and  to  take  another  course  so  different  from  anythin'-- 
I  had  thought  of.  I  said  it  was  out  of  the  question  altogether.  When 
the  first  commotion  of  feeling  was  over,  I  asked  him  how  he  could 
think  of  seeking  a  wife  so  soon  after  his  wife's  death?  I  did  not  like 
it.      His  answer  was: 

"Had  you  remained  in  the  country,  I  should  have  waited  long 
enough  to  have  satisfied  you,  but  to-morrow  you  are  to  leave  here, 
and  I  felt  desperate  at  the  thought  of  losing  you  forever.  I  was  con> 
pelled  by  the  great  love  I  have  for  you  to  come  and  tell  you  of  it  pre- 
maturely. The  district  can  not  spare  you,  the  church  can  not  spare 
you,  my  motherless  children  can  not  spare  you  ;  they  need  you;  they 
love  you  as  an  elder  sister,  and  have  often  wished  that  you  lived  with 
us.  Had  you  left  the  district  you  were  lost  to  us  forever.  As  I  told 
you,  the  great  love  I  have  for  you  compelled  me  to  come  and  try  to 
persuade  you  to  remain  with  us." 

He  asked  me  in  the  name  of  all  that  was  good  not  to  leave  them. 
He  poured  out  his  passionate  appeal  in  burning  eloquence  at  my  feet. 
I  felt  my  strong  resolves  melting  away,  and  I  said : 

"I  must  leave  you  for  a  time  to  consider  the  proposal." 

I  felt  while  he  was  pleading  that  I  could  not  say  no,  and  I  must 
have  time  to  think  and  consider  whether  under  the  circumstances  it 
would  be  right  to  say  yes. 

I  left  lUawarra  and  went  to  Sydney,  and  remained  over  two  months, 
where  I  received  letters  semi-weekly  from  my  friend.  These  letters 
were  charged  with  high  and  noble  sentiments.  I  felt  proud  of  my 
correspondent.     When  I  had  had  time  to  think,  I  wrote  to  him: 

Sydney,  February,  1861. 

I H ,  Esq. 

Dear  Friemi : — You  have  taught  me  a  lesson  without  a  lecture;  you  have  taught 
me  to  love  and  admire  your  noble  character.  There  have  been  those  who  have 
flattered  and  fluttered  as  a  buttsrfly  round  a  flower,  but  I  had  no  syni|}athy  with 
such.  In  your  affection  and  your  expressions  of  it  there  is  nothing  doubtful  or 
undignified.  Therefore,  in  giving  me  your  love  I  feel  that  you  are  worthy  of 
love  in  return.     ♦     »     *     Again  I  lift  my  pen.     You  know  that  for  some  time 


404 


THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 


I  have  been  preparing  to  leave  this  colony.  You  must  know  that  the  cords  of 
love  that  bind  me  to,  and  draw  me  toward,  America  are  very  strong,  and  they 
have  not  been  loosened  in  the  least  since  I  have  been  here.  And  you  must  also 
know  that  my  regrets  at  leaving  Illawarra,  where  I  have  suffered  so  much  men- 
tally and  physically,  could  not  be  great.  With  delight  I  have  hailed  the  time 
when  I  should  once  more  be  with  those  I  love,  and  I  thought  the  time  was  at 
hand.  But  an  opposing  influence  is  at  work;  yet  you  can  not  dissuade  me  from 
going  to  Melbourne,  and  I  may  go  to  Adelaide  and  finish  up  my  mission  for  the 
American  Bible  Union.  I  am  in  the  Lord's  hands,  let  him  do  what  is  good. 
Yours  in  faith,  hope  and  love,  E.  Davies. 

Mr.  H was  greatly  opposed  to  my  going  to  Melbourne,  on  ac- 
count of  the  risk  of  the  voyage,  and  many  other  things.  He  wished 
me  to  stay  in  Sydney,  and  make  arrangements  to  go  back  with  him 
when  he  came  for  me;  but  I  would  not  consent  to  marry  him  till  his 
wife  had  been  at  least  one  year  dead.  Meantime,  I  should  do  as  my 
friends  of  the  Bible  Union  desired,  and  finish  my  engagement  with 
them,  ere  I  entered  upon  a  new  course. 

Again,  I  had  a  supply  of  books  and  letters  urging  my  return  to  Amer- 
ica via  Melbourne  and  Adelaide.  I  sent  off  to  Sir  Wm.  Denison  a 
supply  of  what  I  had,  paid  the  postage,  which  was  very  high,  besides 
paying  the  freight  to  Sydney  of  all  the  cases  of  books  that  were  sent  to 
me.  The  money  that  I  left  in  America  paid  for  every  publication  sent 
to  me  before  it  was  shipped,  and  I  sold  them  for  less  than  they  cost 
me  at  New  York.  I  was  greatly  out  of  pocket;  but  I  was  glad  to  be 
able  in  this  way  to  introduce  Mr.  Campbell's  works,  and  others  of  our 
brethren,  as  well  as  the  Nexv  Translation.  I  spared  neither  pains  nor 
purse.  I  was  about  to  take  a  voyage,  at  my  own  expense,  to  forward 
the  good  cause.  Meantime,  a  ship  very  unexpectedly  arrived  at  Syd- 
ney, on  its  way  to  the  United  States.  I  put  on  board  this  ship  my 
case  of  specimens  of  natural  history,  to  the  care  of  the  American  Bible 
Union,  with  instructions  to  pay  all  expenses  out  of  my  money,  and  for- 
ward it  to  Bethany  College  as  my  contribution  to  the  museum.  This 
was  all  done  in  due  time.  The  captain  of  the  ship,  into  whose  care  I 
gave  my  case,  said  he  would  take  special  care  of  it,  and  more,  he 
would  be  happy  to  have  it  in  his  power  to  take  care  of  me  on  the  voy- 
age to  the  United  States.  Here  was  the  first  opportunity  that  I  had  to 
return  to  America  since  I  had  been  in  New  South  Wales.  It  was  a 
very  great  trial  to  me  to  see  this  stately  ship  sail  away  without  me.  I 
pondered  the  ways  of  God,  but  they  were  inscrutable,  and  past  finding 
out 


TEACHING  ON  HURRICANE  HILL,  AND  OTHER  LABORS.  405 

Why  did  I  not  go?  Perhaps  God  had  allowed  me  to  suffer  dire  dis- 
appointment, then  temptations  and  privations,  in  order  to  prepare  me 
for  a  more  extended  sphere  of  usefulness,  with  a  man  whom  my  heart 
delighted  to  honor.  To  enjoy  the  comforts  of  a  beautiful  home,  amidst 
nature's  grandest  and  most  sublime  scenery,  in  company  with  one  of 
congenial  mind,  one  who  could  point  to  heaven,  and  lead  the  way, 
surely  this  was  compensation  for  all  past  suffering.  From  this  stand- 
point I  looked  into  the  future  with  a  calm  and  happy  feeling  of  restful- 
ness.  The  storm-clouds  seemed  to  have  been  lifted  from  my  horizon. 
I  was  hopeful  that  I  had  a  calm,  happy  and  useful  life  before  me,  and 
I  was  trustful.     I  thanked  and  blessed  God  for  so  blessing  me. 

Coming  events  cast  no  shadows  before. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

VOYAGE  TO  SOUTH  AUSTRALIA. 

On  March  20,  1861,  I  went  aboard  the  barque  Miami,  bound 
for  Adelaide  via  Melbourne.  The  Sydney  owner  of  the  vessel  told  me 
that  one  lady  and  a  stewardess  would  be  all  the  passengers  on  board 
besides  myself;  that  every  comfort  was  provided  for  us,  and  he  hoped 
we  would  have  a  pleasant  voyage.  His  arrangements,  as  he  stated 
them,  pleased  me,  and  I  stepped  on  board  as  the  vessel  was  moving 
from  the  quay.  We  sailed  down  the  harbor  with  a  pleasant  breeze.  I 
stayed  on  deck  as  long  as  it  was  prudent  for  me  to  do  so.  I  wished  to 
prepare  my  cabin  that  I  might  lie  down  as  soon  as  I  felt  sick ;  experience 
told  me  this  was  best.  I  asked  the  steward  to  show  me  my  cabin,  and 
send  the  stewardess  to  me.  To  my  great  surprise,  neither  she  nor  the 
lady  passenger  had  yet  come  on  board.  I  asked  for  my  cabin.  I  was 
shown  to  an  empty  room  without  bed,  bedding,  or  furniture  of  any 
kind.  I  asked  what  this  meant;  but  the  stev/ard,  a  black  man,  could 
not  tell.  I  was  feeling  sick  as  we  neared  the  Heads,  and  I  sent  for  the 
captain,  as  he  w^as  called;  but  for  a  long  time  he  did  not  come.  I 
asked  the  steward  to  prepare  my  bed  for  me,  I  wished  to  lie  down. 
He  said  he  had  no  bed,  nor  clothes  to  make  it.  I  told  him  to  tell  the 
master  to  come  to  me  at  once,  or  ask  where  I  should  sleep,  as  I  could 
not  lie  down  where  I  was.  The  master  came,  and  told  me  that  I  could 
have  his  cabin,  as  he  did  not  expect  to  use  it  much  this  voyage.  I  told 
the  steward  to  turn  out  of  the  master's  room  all  his  charts  and  nautical 
instruments,  his  caps,  jackets  and  boots.  I  asked  the  master  why  the 
owner  had  told  me  every  comfort  was  on  board,  when  the  absolute 
necessaries  were  wanting.  He  said  he  could  not  tell.  I  asked  why  he 
had  sailed  without  the  other  lady  passenger  and  the  stewardess.  He 
had  obeyed  orders,  he  could  do  no  more,  he  said.  As  our  barque  rose 
to  the  waves  between  the  Heads,  and  rolled  out  between  them  to  the 
sea,  I  was  so  sick  that  I  had  to  lie  down  in  my  clothes.  I  had  no  one 
to  help  me  to  undress,  and  I  was  too  sick  to  help  myself.  I  turned 
into  a  bunk,  which  was  very  wide,  with  a  very  narrow  mattress  in  it, 
and  no  bed-clothes  but  a  long  narrow  strip  of  cotton,  twisted  like  a 

(406) 


VOYAGE  TO  SOUTH  AUSTRALIA.  407 

rope  and  soiled.  This  was  dreadful;  but  I  was  too  sick  to  demur.  I 
was  rolled  off  and  on  the  mattress,  and  on  the  back  and  front  of  the 
bunk;  I  was  bumped  without  mercy.  1  had  nothing  to  hold  to,  so  I 
had  to  bear  the  thumping.  The  steward  seemed  to  have  forgotten  that 
I  was  on  board.  The  next  eveninf  he  opened  my  door,  and  I  told 
him  to  give  me  something  to  keep  me  from  being  knocked  about  so. 
He  put  a  bag  of  ship-bunting  behind  me.  I  asked  him  to  give  me 
some  gruel.  He  said  he  had  no  meal  to  make  it  with.  I  had  been 
left  two  days  and  one  night  without  food  or  attendance.  I  was  too 
sick  to  care  much  at  that  time;  but  as  the  sickness  subsided,  I  needed 
food,  and  could  not  get  what  was  necessary.  I  thought  the  owners 
laid  themselves  open  to  prosecution,  sending  me  out  to  sea  under  false 
pretenses,  and  taking  a  high  rate  of  fare  for  my  passage,  and  not  pro- 
viding for  my  comfort  in  any  way  at  all  But  prosecuting  the  owners 
would  not  give  me  a  comfortable  bed  to  lie  on,  or  gruel  to  drink,  or 
somebody  to  wait  on  me  when  I  was  sick.  I  could  hardly  get  water 
to  drink,  certainly  no  good  water.  My  only  and  never  failing  source 
of  comfort  was  to  pray  for  protection  in  my  strange  and  disagreeable 
situation,  and  for  fortitude  and  strength  to  bear  up.  I  asked  God  to 
take  care  of  me.  We  had  a  rough,  rolling  sea,  but  the  wind  was  fair. 
We  had  doubled  Cape  Howe,  and  the*master  was  in  fine  spirits  at  the 
progress  we  were  making.  I  had  scarcely  slept  any  since  I  came  on 
board,  and  water  had  been  my  food.  I  was  weary  with  the  rolling  and 
tossing  of  the  ship.  I  could  not  get  out  of  my  thoughts,  that  the  ship 
was  somehow  in  danger.  About  midnight  I  heard  a  strange  noise. 
This  strange  noise  continued  long  and  loud,  and  louder  still,  till  the 
concentrated  blast  of  the  furies  of  the  storm,  blowing  through  a  huge 
tube,  seemed  bent  on  sliivering  the  ship  to  pieces.  Every  moment  I 
expected  to  hear  a  general  crash,  but  not  a  human  voice  did  I  hear 
from  bows  to  stern,  till  I  heard  the  man  at  the  wheel  cry  out,  * 

"I  can  not  see!" 

"Lights  out!"  shouted  a  voice. 

Alone,  and  in  the  dark,  amid  the  strangest  noises  I  ever  heard,  I 
communed  with  my  own  heart,  and  was  still.  I  commended  the  ship, 
master  and  crew  to  my  heavenly  Father.  The  niglit  was  long  and 
dreary,  and  full  of  terror.  The  storm  increased.  I  knew  the  shi])  was 
in  danger,  but  I  did  not  know  to  what  extent  she  was  damnged.  About 
four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  master  knocked  at  my  door,  and  asked 
me  how  I  spent  the  night.  I  told  him  that  I  had  prayed  for  the  safety 
of  the  ship,  the  crew  and  himself.    I  said  I  had  been  in  great  suspense, 


408  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

but  was  as  calm  on  the  bosom  of  the  stormy  sea  as  a  child  in  its 
mother's  arms. 

••You  will  need  all  your  fortitude." 

"My  Savior's  arms  are  around  me;  I  have  no  fear,  whatever  may 
betide."  f 

"That  is  well;  for  our  vessel  is  stripped  of  her  sails,  yards,  bowsprit 
and  a  mast,  and  is  so  completely  disabled  that  we  can  not  proceed  on 
our  voyage.  Our  rudder  is  broken,  and  we  are  in  a  heavy  fog.  If 
possible,  we  must  steer  for  a  place  of  safety.  Twofold  Bay  is  thc 
nearest  place,  if  we  could  get  back  to  it ;  but  in  this  gale  it  is  doubtful 
if  we  can  make  it  with  two  rags  of  a  sail." 

The  captain  was  greatly  downcast;  he  knew  the  perilous  condition 
of  the  vessel. 

"A  heavy,  cross  sea  is  driving  her  hither,  and  the  winds  thither. 
We  are  entirely  at  the  mercy  of  the  winds  and  waves,  and  the  crew 
were  nearly  exhausted  at  the  pumps  when  I  left  the  deck." 

I  told  him  to  pray  to  Him,  who  could  say  to  the  turmoil  on  the  Pa- 
cific, "Peace  be  still,"  and  could  quiet  the  tempest  as  he  did  on  the 
Sea  of  Galilee.  The  poor  man  said  he  had  been  trying  to  pray  to 
Christ  to  save  us.  He  left  the  cabin,  and  went  on  deck.  When  alone, 
I  clasped  my  hands,  and  raised  my  eyes  to  heaven,  and  prayed  to  God 
to  still  the  tempest,  and  guide  us  to  a  place  of  safety.  The  wind  some- 
what abated,  but  we  were  driven  about  all  that  day  and  night. 
We  were  lost  on  the  waste  of  waters;  we  could  not  find  our  way. 
We  could  not  take  bearings  nor  find  where  the  land  lay.  My  own 
peculiar  situation  was  in  a  measure  overlooked  in  the  general  fearful 
condition  in  which  we  were  all  placed.  The  fog  lifted  a  little,  and 
two  vessels  hove  in  sight,  disabled  alike  in  the  gale.  A  third  hove  in 
sight,  like  ourselves,  dismantled  and  driven  at  the  mercy  of  the  wind 
and  waf  es. 

"God  help  us  all,"  I  cried;   "for  He  alone  can  help." 

The  gale  increased,  and  we  were  driven  before  it,  we  knew  not 
where.  Our  barque  was  like  a  bird  without  wings  trying  to  fly.  She 
shivered  to  the  blast,  and  could  not  mount  the  waves.  The  captain 
had  lost  all  hope  of  saving  her.  When  the  wind  abated  a  little,  all 
hands  went  to  work  to  make  a  jurymast  out  of  the  splinters  of  the 
spars  that  were  strewn  about,  by  tying  them  together  as  best  they 
could.  They  also  tried  to  stitch  a  few  rags  of  canvas  together  to  make 
a  sail.  The  wind  began  to  howl  again  in  that  awful,  ominous  manner. 
Oh,  how  we  rolled  and  pitched.     Another  night  of  horror !     Nothing 


VOYAGE  TO  SOUTH  AUSTRALIA. 


409 


but  God's  protecting  arm  kept  us  afloat.  Our  poor  barque  was  lashed 
by  the  sea  with  such  force  that  I  thought  at  every  blow  she  must  go  to 
the  bottom.  The  sailors  were  nearly  washed  overboard,  as  wave  after 
wave  rolled  over  us  from  stem  to  stern.  The  jerks  and  jumps  of  our 
little  ship  were  perfectly  frightful.  My  poor  head  was  sadly  bruised. 
The  captain  expected  me  to  be  killed  by  being  thrown  out  of  my  bunk. 
No  rest  night  or  day  for  any  on  board.  The  leak  in  the  vessel  had  in- 
creased. She  was  too  heavily  laden,  and  she  had  to  be  lightened;  but 
even  then  she  could  not  obey  the  little  bit  of  rudder  that  we  had.  It  is 
a  great  attainment  to  be  entirely  submissive  to  the  will  of  God.  Now, 
whether  it  was  from  want  of  food,  want  of  sleep,  or  from  being  worn 
out  and  exhausted  by  the  ceaseless  tossing  and  tumbling,  or  all  com- 
bined, I  became  possessed  of  perfect  quietness  of  mind.  I  had  lost  all 
hope  of  safety,  but  I  felt  perfectly  resigned  to  God's  will.  I  was  in  his 
hands,  and  I  rested  there  without  hope  or  fear  for  life.  We  drifted  to 
land  at  last,  and  entered  Jervis'  Bay  on  the  coast  of  lUawarra,  not 
twenty  miles  from  friends.  If  I  could  have  let  them  know,  they 
would  have  taken  me  from  the  ship.  I  had  no  means  of  communica- 
tion, and  I  was  thought  to  be  hundreds  of  miles  away;  and  so  I  would 
have  been,  but  after  being  near  to  Melbourne  we  had  drifted  back  to 
within  a  short  distance  of  where  we  started. 

The  sailors  caught  a  large  fish  and  cooked  it.  I  could  not  eat 
much,  but  it  was  fresh  and  I  enjoyed  what  I  ate.  There  was  nothing 
on  board  but  salt  meat  and  hard  biscuit,  which  my  poor  sick  stomach 
utterly  refused  to  receive.  The  captain  went  ashore  in  quest  of  some 
fresh  food,  but  was  unsuccessful.  The  region  round  about  was  unin- 
habited. He  saw  an  old  hut  with  some  furniture  in  it,  which  had  once 
been  occupied.  He  wrote  on  a  piece  of  paper,  and  fastened  it  to  the 
table,  an  account  of  our  disabled  state,  and  our  seeking  refuge  in  the 
bay.  We  patched  up  a  little,  it  was  but  little,  for  we  had  no  material. 
Something  went  wrong,  we  were  driving  shoreward  toward  the  break- 
ers, and  away  went  our  anchor  again.  We  had  weighed  anchor  and 
were  preparing  to  leave  our  shelter,  when  we  were  driven  back,  and 
had  to  cast  anchor  again;  but  she  broke  her  cable  and  was  very  nearly 
stranded.  We  got  out  of  tlie  bay  at  last.  As  soon  as  we  rolled  out 
to  sea,  I  had  to  roll  into  the  bunk  with  my  clothes  on ;  I  had  not  been 
undressed  since  I  left  Sydney.  I  was  very  uncomfortable,  but  that 
was  a  small  matter.  At  this  time  we  had  been  fifteen  days  out,  and 
no  farther  from  Sydney  than  we  were  on  the  third  day.  I  was  fiint 
for  want  of  food,  weary  and  exhausted  by  being  knocked  about  so 


4IO  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

hard  and  so  long,  and  I  was  nearly  beside  myself  for  want  of  sleep. 
Two  nights  and  three  days  I  did  not  close  my  eyes  one  moment  to 
sleep,  holding  on  to  keep  my  bones  from  being  broken.  We  had  a 
fair  wind  at  last,  which  carried  us  past  some  dangerous  islands  and 
sunken  rocks  at  the  entrance  of  Bass  Strait.  We  had  a  dead  calm  for 
a  time,  and  the  sailors  caught  some  fish  and  cooked  them.  I  was 
nearly  famished,  and  I  was  glad  to  have  some  fish.  Seventeen  days 
out  and  only  have  eaten  fish  twice  •  in  the  time,  nothing  more.  In 
looking  over  the  ship's  log,  I  was  surprised  to  see  in  what  concise 
language  they  describe  a  heavy  gale,  or  a  ship's  danger — as,  "Shipped 
tremendous  seas  all  over  us;  ship  labored  very  hard;  southerly  burster 
carried  away  our  sails,  yard,  mast  and  bowsprit;  ship  sprang  a  leak 
in  the  after  part;  sailed  to  leeward;  was  driven  out  of  her  way." 
The  fact  was,  the  old  tub  of  a  vessel  was  utterly  unseaworthy.  When 
a  sea  would  wash  over  her  and  fill  her  decks  with  water,  she  seemed 
at  times  to  stand  perfectly  still,  and  the  pause  was  appalling ;  then  we 
thought  she  was  settling  down  to  rise  no  more.  We  had  no  sooner 
entered  Port  Philip,  thinking  our  dangers  at  an  end,  when  bump, 
bump,  went  our  tub,  ashore  on  a  sand-bank.  We  were  greatly  shaken, 
but  we  were  wedged  tight.  We  were  still  too  heavily  laden,  through 
the  covetousness  of  the  owners. 

I  landed  at  Melbourne  after  being  twenty  days  at  sea,  without 
having  been  undressed  in  all  that  time;  had  eaten  food  twice;  had 
scarcely  slept,  and  was  bruised  all  over.  We  ought  to  have  been 
at  the  end  of  our  voyage  eight  days  before,  but  we  were  only  half 
way.  An  unseen  hand  at  the  broken  helm  steered  us  into  port  at 
last;  to  Him  alone  do  I  render  thanks  for  my  preservation.  Lan- 
guage fails  to  convey  my  thoughts  when  I  found  myself  out  on  the 
bosom  of  the  mighty  ocean  alone,  with  what  might  have  been  a  dozen 
lawless  men.  The  retrospect  makes  me  shudder;  but  I  was  saved.  I 
again  and  again  thanked  God  for  my  double  preservation.  On  land- 
ing, I  had  to  be  supported  to  the  train  that  was  to  take  me  to  town ;  I 
could  not  walk  through  exhaustion.  Nourishing  food,  sea-bathing  and 
rest  for  a  day  or  two,  and  I  was  well  again. 

I  went  to  work  vigorously.  I  was  successful  in  a  measure  among 
the  Baptists  with  the  new  translation.  Sir  Henry  Barklay,  v/ith  whom 
I  corresponded,  wished  to  buy  the  work  when  finished,  but  would  not 
subscribe.  There  was  a  small  church  of  Disciples  at  one  of  the  sub- 
urbs, where  I  introduced  Mr.  Campbell's  works,  and  they  ordered 
sixty  copies  of  the  Christian  Syslem.     For  these  I  paid  at  New  York 


VOYAGE  TO  SOUTH  AUSTRALIA.  4II 

$1.50,  and  paid  freight;  and  when  they  landed  in  Australia  I  received 
$1.00  per  copy  for  them,  thereby  losing  half  a  dollar  on  each  copy, 
besides  the  freight.  I  visited  the  ministers  and  members  of  churches, 
and  advertised  in  the  papers,  and  did  all  I  could  in  Melbourne.  I 
had  a  few  subscribers  and  received  a  few  donations.  I  had  orders  for 
books  of  various  kinds.  I  thought  the  works  thus  introduced  would 
pave  the  way  for  reformation  in  the  churches,  as  well  as  for  organizing 
churches  on  Bible  principles.  I  was  willing  to  spend  and  be  spent  in 
this  cause.  My  work  being  done  in  Melbourne,  I  was  ready  to  resume 
my  voyage;  but  I  had  not  brought  any  extra  money  with  me  only  what 
would  take  me  to  Adelaide  and  back  to  Sydney.  My  full  passage 
money  to  Adelaide  had  been  paid;  but  I  could  not  venture  on  the 
Miami  again.  I  had  suffered  too  severely  already,  and  it  was  not  con- 
venient for  me  to  pay  my  passage  twice.  Mr.  Lord  suggested  that  the 
owners  of  the  Miafni  be  prosecuted  for  damages;  but  this  would  require 
both  time  and  money,  both  of  which  were  limited.  Mr.  Lord  accom- 
panied me  to  the  office  of  the  agent  of  the  Miami  to  see  what  could  be 
done.     I  asked  the  agent  when  the  Miarni  was  to  sail  ? 

"In  ten  days,"  said  he. 

I  couW  not  wait  so  long,  my  time  was  up.  I  had  intended  to  be  at 
Melbourne  after  finishing  my  business  at  Adelaide.  I  said  I  must  get 
to  the  end  of  my  voyage  soon,  and  I  was  short  of  money,  seeing  I 
brought  none  extra.  A  well-dressed  man  who  stood  by  said,  with  a 
scowl  on  his  brow : 

"The  best  thing  you  can  do  is  to  go  on  board  the  Miami  a.nd  stay 
there  till  she  sails,  and  go  with  her  to  Adelaide;  that  will  cost  you 
nothing  more,  and  the  time  is  nothing." 

I  asked  the  agent  who  the  man  was  who  had  used  such  liberty  of 

speech,  and  who  had  volunteered  such  advice?     Mr.  ,  one  of  tlie 

owners  of  the  Miami,  was  introduced  to  me.     I  turned  to  the  owner, 
and  said: 

"Sir,  I  can  not  take  your  advice.     I  thank  you  all  the  same  for 

giving  it." 

"I  should  like  to  know  the  reason  why  you  can  not  go  on  board; 

you  can  not  do  better." 

I  told  him  I  could  do  better,  if  he  would  arrange  for  my  passage  on 
board  of  a  steamer,  or  give  mc  back  half  of  the  money  that  I  paid  to 
one  of  the  owners  in  Sydney. 

"That  will  I  not  do.  You  shall  go  on  l)oard  the  Miami,  or  not,  as 
you  choose ;    1  shall  make  no  other  arrangements  for  you,  and  you 


412  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE, 

have  no  redress.  You  took  your  passage  in  the  Miami,  and  in  her  you 
can  go,"  said  the  man,  in  a  hoarse  voice. 

I  said,  "I  did  not  come  to  lodge  a  complaint  against  any  one  for  the 
treatment  I  had  received  at  their  hands.  First,  they  took  a  large  sum 
of  money  for  my  through  passage  to  Adelaide,  because  no  other  ship 
was  going ;  then  they  deliberately  falsified  by  telling  me  that  another 
lady  passenger  and  a  stewardess  were  on  board,  and  that  every  com- 
fort was  provided  for  us.  I  had  offered,  before  going  on  board,  to 
procure  anything  extra  that  was  needed;  but  I  was  told  that  everything 
that  could  possibly  be  wanted  was  on  board.  I  had  implicit  faith  in 
their  word.  I  trusted  to  their  honor;  never  suspected  that  they  could 
treat  a  human  being  so  barbarously.  I  did  not,  till  I  was  out  at  sea, 
discover  that  I  was  the  only  lady  on  board  with  a  dozen  strange  men, 
without  a  bed  to  lie  on,  and  no  comforts,  not  even  necessary  food,  and 
my  sick  stomach  could  not  receive  the  salt  junk  and  hard  biscuit.  The 
vessel  was  utterly  unseaworthy,  and  badly  fitted  out  for  a  voyage,  and 
the  captain  and  crew  might  have  been  outlaws  for  anything  the  owners 
cared.  I  have  now  given  you  my  reasons  why  I  can  not  take  your 
advice.  Do  you  still  advise  me  to  go  on  board  your  ship,  and  put  out 
to  see  again  under  these  circumstances?" 

"I  certainly  do,  and  if  you  don't,  you  have  no  redress." 

Tears  sprang  to  my  eyes  at  the  barbarity  of  the  man's  speech. 

"Man,  have  you  no  heart?  have  you  a  sister,  or  a  daughter?" 

He  said  he  had  both.     Then  I  said : 

"Would  you  be  willing  to  send  one  of  them  out  to  sea  with  a  num- 
ber of  strange  men,  without  food  to  eat,  or  a  bed  to  lie  on,  to  dare  the 
dangers  of  the  deep?" 

"Yes,  I  would,  most  certainly,"  said  the  inhuman  man. 

"Seeing  I  have  not  a  gentleman  to  deal  with,  I  have  nothing  to  ex- 
pect; but  rather  than  go  on  board  of  that  ship  again,  I  would  walk  to 
Adelaide,  and  beg  bread  by  the  way,  if  it  were  possible  to  do  so,"  I  said. 

Let  me  say  that  the  captain  and  officers  were  perfectly  civil  when 
in  my  presence,  which  was  but  seldom,  as  the  vessel  needed  their 
whole  attention.  The  agent  seemed  to  be  a  gentleman,  and  asked  sev- 
eral questions;  but  I  had  nothing  to  say  against  the  poor  over-worked 
men  on  board.     The  agent  said : 

"I  am  truly  ashamed  of  the  owners  of  the  Aliami.  I  will,  at  my  own 
risk,  and  on  my  own  responsibility,  return  to  you  the  half  of  your  pas- 
sage money;  that  was  all  you  asked  for." 

Dame  fortune  did  not  hold  me  in   favor  somehow.      Opposition 


VOYAGE  TO  SOUTH  AUSTRALIA. 


413 


Steamers  had  been  running  between  Melbourne  and  Adelaide  lor  some 
time  at  reduced  fares.  This  I  thought  fortunate,  as  I  should  have  to 
pay  but  little  more  than  my  returned  money;  but  when  I  took  passage 
on  board  of  the  Wo?iga  Wonga,  she  had  run  her  last  trip  at  reduced 
fares,  and  I  was  the  first  to  pay  full  fare.  We  made  the  voyage  in 
fifty-eight  hours,  and  had  a  pleasant  trip.  The  Miami,  after  being  re- 
paired, sailed,  and  was  totally  wrecked  betAveen  Melbourne  and  Ade- 
laide.    I  was  thankful  that  I  was  not  in  her. 

Once  more  I  landed  at  Port  Adelaide.  What  wonderful  improve- 
ments had  been  made  since  I  left  its  shores.  I  had  letters  of  in- 
troduction to  some  of  the  leading  men  of  the  colony ;  but  I  was  anx- 
ious to  find  out  whether  any  of  my  old  friends  were  alive.     1  found 

Mr.  B ,  my  old  friend,  who  had  been  so  kind  to  me  in  the  dark 

hours  of  the  past,  who,  with  his  younger  daughter,  gave  me  a  cordial 
welcome,  his  wife  being  dead.  Here  I  rested  a  few  days,  and  inter- 
ested Mr.  B in  my  mission,  and  he  promised  me  all  the  help  he 

could  give.  I  called  on  the  Hon.  G.  F.  Angas,  who  had  once  been 
interested  in  the  translation  of  the  Spanish  Scriptures.  I  was  author- 
ized to  call  on  this  gentleman,  as  his  name  was  known  to  the  American 
Bible  Union.  He  received  me  very  kindly,  and  at  once  gave  ;!^5o, 
or  $250,  and  promised  to  give  that  yearly,  on  condition  that  the  officers 
of  the  Bible  Union  would  write  to  him.  This  I  promised  him  they 
should  do.  After  many  questions  asked,  and  satisfactory  answers 
given,  he  asked  me  what  I  received  for  my  services,  and  who  paid  my 
traveling  expenses.  I  told  him  I  received  no  renumeration;  I  will- 
ingly gave  my  services,  and  paid  my  own  traveling  expenses.  He  in- 
sisted on  paying  my  expenses  from  Sydney  to  Adelaide.  I  politely 
refused;  but  he  said  he  would  do  no  more  for  my  mission,  if  I  refused 
his  gift.  He  said  he  had  a  better  right  to  pay  my  expenses  than  I  had, 
for  he  had  more  money,  and  I  was  giving  what  was  more  valuable.  1 
accepted,  and  was  greatly  impressed  with  his  liberality.  Before  I  left 
the  old  gentleman,  he  said  he  would  be  pleased  to  have  me  partake  of 
his  birthday  breakfast  next  morning,  the  first  of  May,  1861  ;  he 
would  then  be  seventy-two  years  old.  I  promised  to  be  in  attendance, 
and  I  was  punctual  to  the  time,  which  pleased  him.  On  another  occa- 
sion, I  was  invited  to  dine  with  the  old  gentleman,  and  going  into  din- 
ner, I  happened  to  put  my  hand  on  his  arm  just  to  suit  him,  for  he 
was  very  punctilious.  He  was  a  gentleman  of  the  old  school,  and 
very  courtly  in  his  manners.     I  was  glad  to  have  pleased  the  old  gen- 


414  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

tleman,  for  I  held  him  in  great  respect.  He  proved  himself  a  true 
friend  to  me. 

I  wrote  to  Sir  Richard  McDonnell,  Governor  of  South  Australia, 
asking  for  his  patronage  for  the  New  Translation.  I  had  an  audience 
of  him,  which  ended  in  his  subscribing,  and  becoming  a  member  of 
the  Union.  He,  as  all  others  in  power,  asked  many  questions;  but 
he  was  pleasant  in  conversation,  and  finished  by  asking  me  to  go  to 
Bishop's  Court,  and  tell  the  bishop  that  he  sent  me  to  him  with  the 
Neiu  Translation. 

"Tell  him  I  have  subscribed." 

I  called  on  Bishop  Short,  and  was  received  with  far  more  ceremony 
than  at  Government  House.  The  bishop  examined  the  work,  and  said 
he  would  like  to  purchase  the  work  when  finished,  but  declined  to  help 
to  finish  it. 

I  had  heard  that  the  bishop  of  the  Roman  Church  was  a  great  scholar, 
and  as  I  wished  to  have  criticisms,  as  well  as  subscriptions,  I  purposed 
calling  on  him,  and  would  not  be  dissuaded,  though  some  tried  to  keep 
me  back,  as  it  seemed  very  bold  to  beard  the  hon  in  his  den.  They 
knew  he  would  not  patronize  the  work.  I  took  nothing  for  granted. 
I  took  a  young  lady  friend  with  me,  rang  the  bell  at  Bishop's  Court, 
and  was  ushered  into  the  august  presence  ot  a  large  man,  enveloped 
from  neck  to  heels  in  a  black  gown,  with  gold  cable  chain  of  great 
length  and  weight  around  his  neck,  with  a  large  gold  cross  fastened 
over  his  heart,  and  a  three-cornered  cap  on  his  head.  His  triple- 
crowned  hat  sat  on  a  little  table  by  his  side,  and  he  was  on  a  raised 
seat,  from  which  he  did  not  rise  when  ladies  entered  his  presence.  He 
was  the  most  pompous  man  I  had  seen  in  Australia.  He  pointed  to 
seats,  which  we  took.  I  opened  my  business  at  once  by  saying,  I 
should  like,  if  he  did  not  object,  to  have  his  opinion  of  a  New  Trans- 
lation of  the  Scriptures,  published  in  America. 

"First,  do  you  belong  to  the  Church,  the  Holy  Catholic  Church?" 
he  said. 

"No,  sir;  but  I  belong  to  the  Christian  Church." 

He  noticed  that  we  neither  bowed  nor  crossed  ourselves  before  the 
pictures  of  the  Madonna  and  others,  which  hung  around  the  room. 
He  said  there  is  but  one  true  Church.     I  bowed,  and  said  mentally, 

"Yes;  but  that  is  Christ's." 

"Why  do  you  come  to  me  with  a  Protestant  Bible  for  an  opinion," 
again  he  asked. 

I  told  him  I  had  heard  of  his  great  erudition,  and  as  a  scholar 


VOYAGE  TO  SOUTH  AUSTRALIA.  415 

merely,  I  wished  to  have  his  valuable  criticisms.  Scholars  everywhere 
are  invited  to  criticise  the  work.     It  is  a  work  for  the  people. 

"The  people,  did  you  say?  Why,  the  people  are  not  fit  to  read  the 
Bible.     We,  the  priests,  interpret  the  meaning  for  them." 

"But,"  I  said,  "we  can  not  always  have  a  priest  at  our  elbow  to  in- 
terpret for  us,  so  we  wish  to  read  for  ourselves  the  word  of  God." 

"Well,  as  I  have  said,  the  people  can  not,  and  if  they  could,  they 
would  not  be  allowed  to  read  the  Bible." 

With  just  a  shade  of  feeling,  I  asked,  "Who  does  hinder  them?" 

"The  Church  hinders  them." 

"Do  they  all  obey?  I  think  not,  for  I  have  seen  Roman  Catholics 
read  the  Bible." 

"But,"  said  this  pompous  bishop,  "they  have  not  the  right  of  pri- 
vate judgment,  so  their  reading  is  of  no  avail." 

"Well,"  I  said,  "will  you  be  so  kind  as  to  look  over' this  work,  and 
give  your  opinion  simply  as  a  scholar." 

"I  dare  not  do  it,''  said  this  august  man. 

"Why?"  I  asked  in  surprise.  "You  say  you  are  one  of  the  guar- 
dians of  the  Church,  one  of  the  interpreters  of  the  Bible  to  the  people, 
and  why  dare  you  not  give  your  opinion  on  what  you  read?  Who 
hinders  you?" 

"The  Holy  See." 

Ironically  I  asked,  "What  is  that?" 

"His  Holiness,  the  Pope,"  was  answered;  "and  without  his  per- 
mission, I  dare  not  read  any  work,  or  have  an  opinion  of  my  own  on 
it,  were  I  allowed  to  read  it." 

At  this  I  arose  from  my  seat,  and  said :  "Sir,  you  are  a  man  of  great 
learning,  of  profound  erudition,  with  a  library  here  of  immense  size  and 
great  value,  and  do  you  mean  to  say  that  you  have  never  read  any  of 
these  books  without  the  Pope's  permission?  Or  having  read  them, 
you  could  not,  dare  not,  think  your  own  thoughts  about  them?" 

The  bishop  also  rose  from  his  exalted  seat,  came  down  to  my  level 
on  the  floor,  opened  one  of  the  large  book-cases,  took  out  a  book  to 
show  me,  and  said: 

"I  have  read  these  with  permission  and  many  more,  but  as  I  have 
told  you,  I  have  not  the  right  of  private  judgment." 

"It  is  enough,"  I  said,  and  smiled;  ''you  have  (old  me,  and  you  are 
high  authority,  that  the  Roman  Catholics  are  not  allowed  to  read  the  Bible, 
Gois  word  to  men  ;  nor  have  they  the  right  of  private  judgment.  I  have 
been  told  this,  but  I beliex'e  it  now." 


4l6  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

I  thanked  his  Lordship  for  his  courtesy,  and  bowed  my  adieu,  say- 
ing, I  would  detain  him  no  longer.  He  opened  the  door  for  us  and 
bowed  us  out. 

At  Hindmarsh,  a  few  English  brethren  met  in  a  small  room  to  at- 
tend to  the  ordinances  of  the  Lord  in  his  own  appointed  way.  They 
were  earnest-hearted  and  zealous  in  good  works.  I  introduced  the 
new  translation  to  them;  they  were  pleased  with  it,  and  patronized 

liberally.     They  were  a  noble  little  band.     Here  I  met  Brother  M , 

a  man  of  wealth  and  influence,  who  was  then  a  member  of  Parliament, 
but  he  had  the  higher  title  of  Christian  gentleman.  He  invited  me  to 
visit  his  family  at  Enfield,  which  I  did.  It  was  composed  of  Alexan- 
der and  Silvanus,  two  fine  lads  who  were  going  to  college ;  Janie  and 
Bertie,  two  very  sweet  girls ;  then  two  younger  boys,  James  and  Tom, 
and  Lillie  came  while  I  was  there,  and  I  called  her  my  wee  pet 
lamb,  because  I  nursed  her  a  great  deal,  and  Brother  M 's  broth- 
er's orphans  were  all  brought  up  together  and  formed  one  family.     It 

was  a  large  but  lovely  and  loving  family.     Mr.  M was  a  liberal 

man,  but  he  did  not  let  his  left  hand  know  what  his  right  hand  did. 
His  liberality  was  felt  and  appreciated  by  many.  He  has  been  a  good 
steward.  He  subscribed  for  a  directorship,  and  entered  into  my  plans 
heartily  to  organize  an  auxiliary  society  to  the  American  Bible  Union. 

I  wrote  a  long  letter  to  Mr.  Buckbee,  giving  an  account  of  my  suc- 
cess.    I  was  very  successful  in  Adelaide.     I  also  wrote  a  long  letter 

to  Mr.  Campbell.     Mr.  M wished  to  be  introduced  to  the  great 

man,  and  I  had  great  pleasure  in  introducing  this  noble-hearted  Chris- 
tian gentleman  to  my  friend.  But  I  shall  transcribe  Mr.  M 's  let- 
ter to  Mr.  Campbell,  which  I  enclosed  in  mine,  and  he  published  it. 

Adelaide,  South  Australia,  May  20,  1861. 
Elder  A.  Campbell: 

Dear  Brother: — We  have  been  much  favored  by  a  visit  from  Sister  E.  Davies, 
whose  long  residence  with  you  has  enabled  her  as  it  were  to  introduce  us  to 
your  family  circle.  She  is  on  a  mission  for  the  Bible  Union,  and  has  been  the 
means  of  strengthening  the  hitherto  very  slight  cords  which  have  bound  us  to 
the  great  undertaking  of  the  age.  My  object  in  writing  is  to  tell  you  that  Sister 
Davies  has  opened  a  way  for  me  to  become  possessed  of  your  Harbinger  as  it 
issues  from  the  press.  Some  kind  friend  in  America  (I  suspect  yourself)  some 
years  since  sent  me  an  occasional  number  of  the  Harbinger.  From  the  spelling 
of  my  name  and  direction,  I  was  not  sure  it  was  intended  for  me,  and  not  know- 
ing the  donor,  I  could  not  write  to  thank  him;  and,  having  no  means  of  remit- 
ting money,  I  could  not  pay.  I  have  paid  over  to  Sister  Davies  the  sum  of  forty 
shillings  to  pay  for  two  years  in  advance,  and  the  balance  to  discharge  past  lia- 


VOYAGE  TO  SOUTH  AUSTRALIA. 


417 


bilities,  if  it  is  you  to  whom  I  am  indebted ;  but  if  it  is  to  some  unknown  friend, 
then  the  trifling  difference  may  be  put  to  your  church  fund,  or  some  similar 
fund  useful  to  the  kingdom.  *  «  *  You  will,  dear  brother,  excuse  the  busi- 
ness formality  of  this  letter.  Sister  Davies  can  better  describe  the  state  of  the 
Australian  churches.  I  am  purposely  avoiding  any  subject  which  would  tax 
your  time  by  calling  for  a  lengthy  reply.  Your  remaining  strength  and  your 
time  should  be  economized  by  laboring  for  communities  rather  than  individuals. 
I  remain,  dear  brother,  yours  in  the  hope,  T.  M. 

A  lady  playfully  asked  me  who  was  my  very  faithful  correspondent 
in  New  South  Wales,  who  wrote  so  often  and  so  beautifully,  and 
whose  letters  gave  me  so  much  pleasure  ?  I  told  her,  and  gave  her 
some  of  the  letters  to  read.     She  was  perfectly  charmed  with  them. 

"Your  prospect  for  future  happiness  is  good,"  she  remarked. 

I  told  her  I  thought  so. 

I  had  introduced  my  work  to  Mr.  Bakewell,  Crown  Solicitor,  and 
was  well  received  by  him.  I  was  invited  to  his  beautiful  home  at 
Shirley.  I  was  looking  at  the  bright,  sweet  face  of  Miss  Bakewell. 
She  reminded  me  very  much  of  Miss  Virginia  Campbell.  I  thought 
it  strange  that  so  striking  a  likeness  should  exist  between  these  two. 
I  told  Mr.  Bakewell  of  the  striking  likeness  I  saw.  It  occurred  to  me 
that  Mrs.  Campbell's  name  was  Bakewell,  and  she  was  born  in  En- 
gland. I  asked  Mr.  Bakewell  if  he  had  any  relations  in  America? 
He  said  he  had  had  an  uncle  who  went  to  America,  and  here  a  little 
family  history  was  gone  into.  It  turned  out  that  Mrs.  Campbell  and 
Mr.  Bakewell  were  cousins,  without  either  of  them  knowing  aught  of 
the  other.  Here  again  I  had  an  opportunity  of  introducing  Austra- 
lians to  Americans,  and  throwing  cords  of  love  and  relationship  across 
the  mighty  ocean.  These  were  the  beginnings  of  considerable  results. 
My  old  friends  had  been  scattered  like  roses  in  June.  I  had  found 
but  few  of  them.  I  had  gotten  nearly  through  with  my  work  in  South 
Australia;  I  had  been  very  successful  in  every  way,  and  was  begin- 
ning to  prepare  for  my  return  to  Sydney.  I  had  spent  a  day  in  the 
cemetery  hunting  for  a  grave  before  I  left  the  colony.      I  had  not  told 

any  one  that  I  had  a  desire  to  see  the  grave  of  Mr.  I) .     (ircat  as 

was  my  desire  to  see  it,  I  could  not  find  it.  I  was  compelled  to  ask 
the  sexton;  but  he  did  not  know  where  it  was.  The  greater  the  diffi- 
culty to  find  it,  the  greater  was  my  determmation  to  overcome  the 
difficulty.     I  was  gratified,  but,  merciful  (iod,  at  what  a  cost!     1  told 

Mr.  B that  I  had  been  looking  for  the  grave  of  Mr.  D for  a 

long  time,  and  could  not  find  it. 
27 


41 8  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

"No,  that  was  not  likely  for  you  to  find  the  grave  of  a  living  man. 
Davies  is  alive,  and,  if  I  mistake  not,  he  is  in  the  city,"  said  Mr.  B . 

A  chill  of  horror  ran  through  my  veins.  I  sat  speechless  in  blank 
astonishment.  I  was  cold  and  stupid,  and  motionless  as  a  stone, 
without  sense  or  feeling  for  a  while,  then  my  limbs  relaxed,  and  I  fell 
a  crushed  and  blighted  thing.  I  could  not,  would  not,  believe  what 
I  had  heard,  but  I  felt  as  if  it  were  true.  I  said  he  must  be  dead, 
otherwise,  why  did  God  permit  me  to  come  to  this  place?  Had  I 
known  it,  I  should  never  have  come;  but  I  do  not  know.  It  can  not 
be  true.  I  had  for  some  years  been  free  from  that  haunting  terror  of 
him  who  had  blighted  my  young  life,  believing  he  was  dead.  I  was 
again  filled  with  this  torturing  feeling.  What  could  I  do?  Where 
could  I  go  to  get  quit  of  the  nameless  dread  that  took  hold  of  me?  I 
could  see  no  way  of  escape  but  in  the  grave.  The  suspense  that  I 
was  in  for  some  days  was  terrible.  I  could  neither  eat  nor  sleep.  A 
sad  change  had  come  over  me,  but  this  state  of  suspense  must  end. 
I  must  know  the  worst.  I  must  know  whether  the  assertion  were  true, 
for  as  yet  I  could  not  believe  it.  I  told  no  one  how  my  soul  was  tor- 
tured, but  mental  agony  was  legibly  written  on  every  line  of  my  face. 
No  thought  of  happiness  illumined  my  soul ;  all  was  dark  and  drear 
within.     The  dread  suspense  was  undermining  my  mental  faculties. 

I  asked  Mr.  B to  find  out  the  exact  truth  and  let  me  know.     He 

suggested  the  feasibleness  of  my  leaving  the  colony  without  the  knowl- 
edge. 

"No,"  I  said;  "my  mind  is  full  of  doubt  and  fear,  and  I  must 
know  my  fate.  What  is  all  the  world  to  me  if  I  am  still  his  wife,  or 
he  alive?" 

Mr.  B ascertained  that  for  a  truth  Mr.  D was  alive  and  in 

the  city.  I  shuddered  as  I  felt  that  my  misery  was  complete.  A  cry 
of  horror  escaped  my  agonized  heart: 

"My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me?  Let  me  die;  I 
can  not  live.  Why  was  I  not  lost  at  sea  ?  Why  was  I  preserved  alive, 
to  be  plunged  into  deeper,  darker  woe  than  ever  before.  Woe,  woe, 
and  agony  unutterable.  What  shall  I  do?  Where  shall  I  go,  to  hide 
from  God  and  man.  Woe  is  me ;  I  am  undone.  I  am  beside  myself; 
great  terror  has  gotten  hold  of  me." 

I  wrote  to  Mr.  H at  once;  told  him  to  think  no  more  of  me, 

to  write  no  more  to  me,  to  drop  me  out  of  his  life,  and  forget  me.  I 
had  been  thrust  from  the  extreme  of  happiness  to  the  extreme  of  mis- 
ery.    I  had  been  suddenly  and  inextricably  plunged  by  a  horrid  spec- 


VOYAGE  TO  SOUTH  AUSTRALIA. 


419 


ter,  that  had  risen  up  before  me,  into  misery  unbearable.  Hope  and 
happiness  were  shut  out  of  my*  life  forever.  He  is  alive  whom  I  be- 
lieved dead,  who  once  claimed  me,  as  his  wife,  I  long  have  thought 
his  cruel  deeds  were  hidden  in  the  deep,  dark  grave.  He  yet  lives. 
O  God,  what  next?  I  know  not.  What  makes  his  name  so  fearful? 
Oh,  this  weight  of  woe  and  agony;  it  presses  me  sore. 

"But  why  tell  you  all  this?  You  can  not  help  me,  and  I  do  not 
wish  to  hear  from  you;  you  might  say  you  pity  me.  I  want  no  pity. 
Farewell;  forever  farewell." 

The  enemy  who  had  persecuted  me,  who  had  smitten  my  life  to  the 
ground,  was  not  dead.  Therefore  was  my  spirit  overwhelmed  within 
me.  My  heart  was  desolate.  My  spirit  utterly  failed  me.  I  could 
not  pray;  I  could  not  see  through  the  clouds  that  dimmed  my  horizon. 
They  grew  darker  and  gloomier,  till  the  storm  burst  over  my  devoted 
head,  and  left  marks  of  desolation  all  along  the  path  I  was  traveling. 
Like  the  poor  tempest-tossed  little  barque  Miami,  driven  about  on  the 
wide  ocean  at  the  mercy  of  the  winds  and  waves,  which  were  furious 
and  merciless,  until  she  could  no  longer  withstand  their  combined  fury, 
and  she  sank  a  total  wreck  to  rise  no  more. 

"O  God,"  I  cried,  "save  me  from  mental  shipwreck.  I  am  now 
in  the  breakers.     Save,  Lord,  or  I  perish." 

I  was  in  this  mental  tempest  for  several  days;  if  any  one  spoke  to 
me  I  could  only  wrmg  my  hands;  my  misery  had  no  voice.  I  sat 
crouching  by  the  parlor  fire,   in  the  hospitable  mansion  of  Brother 

M ,  trying  to  appropriate  to  myself  some  of  the  exhortation  I  had 

heard  at  church  that  day,  but  nothing  reached  my  case.     I  was  alone 

in  my  misery.     Mr.  M  and  Dr.  K came  in  and  sat  beside 

me.  Blank  despair  sat  brooding  at  the  heart  of  the  crouching  figure. 
They  must  have  read  it  in  my  face.  The  doctor  put  his  finger  on  my 
pulse,  saying: 

"You  look  ill;   I  shall  give  you  some  medicine." 

I  looked  straight  at  him  and  said:  "I  am  not  ill,"  ^'^nd  I  arose  from 
my  seat  and  walked  to  the  other  end  of  the  room,  repeating  to  myself, 
"A  malady  prays  at  my  heart  that  medicine  can  not  reach." 

As  I  left  my  scat,  I  heard  the  doctor  say: 

"I  am  sorry  to  see  her  suffer  so;  if  we  could  only  get  her  to  speak. " 

Another  time  I  sat  with  my  bowed  head  on  my  crossed  arms,  leaning 

on  a  table.    I  had  tried  to  write,  but  failed  in  the  attempt.    Mr.  M 

came  in,  and  sat  down  beside  me.  I  raised  my  head,  and  met  his 
kind,  sympathizing  eyes.      He  said,  and  I  shall  never  forget  it, 


420 


THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 


"I  sympathiiv-  wilh  you  in  your  great  trouble,  and  so  does  Mrs. 

M ,  and  I  need  hardly  tell  you  that  we  pray  for  you." 

"Oh,  Mr.  M ,  you  do  not  know  my  trouble." 

"I  do,"  he  said,  "better  than  you  think,  and  I  do  most  sincerely 
sympathize  with  you." 

I  could  say  no  more  and  he  left  me.  In  a  moment  all  my  strength 
seemed  to  leave  me,  and  I  cried,  "God  help  ine,  God  help  me,"  and 
I  buried  my  face  in  my  hands,  and  leaned  heavily  on  the  table.  Even 
as  I  cried  to  God  to  help  me,  a  feeling  of  rebellion  took  possession  of 
my  soul,  and  I  mentally  questioned  the  justice  and  mercy  of  God  in 
thus  robbing  my  life  of  all  its  brightness,  in  bringing  this  fearful  woe 
upon  me.  What  had  I  done  to  deserve  this?  was  my  rebellious  ques- 
tion, wrung  from  a  tortured  heart.  I  could  not  pray  for  submission  to 
the  will  of  God.  Beautiful  and  holy  visions  had  passed  away,  and 
nothing  was  left  but  a  dark  shadow  lying  on  the  waste  of  life.    A  friend 

and  brother  suggested  that  I  should  divorce  Mr.  D .     I  said: 

"Anything  to  be  free;  but  I  can  not  do  it.  I  can  bring  nothing 
against  him.  I  am  a  perfect  stranger  here,  though  this  was  once  my 
home.  I  know  no  one  who  knows  him,  and  I  am  perfectly  helpless. 
I  have  everything  to  fear,  and  nothing  to  hope,  by  attempting  to  di- 
vorce him." 

"You  have  friends  who  know  when  this  man  troubled  your  life  be- 
fore, and  they  stood  by  you ;  you  have  some  of  them  and  others  now 
that  will  stand  by  you  in  any  event,  and  will  clear  the  way  for  you  as 
much  as  they  can." 

Suddenly  a  strange  new  feeling  came  over  me,  as  though  the  agency 
of  some  hidden  power  was  at  work.  I  felt  myself  grow  strong. 
Whence  this  strange  new  power?  Was  it  the  sudden  uprising  of  my 
soul  above  the  tossings  of  the  tempest,  or  the  crushing  out  of  every 
tender  chord  of  feeling?  It  was  neither.  I  was  simply  an  instrument 
in  God's  hand,  to  work  out  his  purpose.  I  vowed  a  vow  to  the  Lord, 
that  if  he  would  take  from  my  life  this  unbearable  load  I  would  try  to 
serve  him  more  faithfully;  I  did  not  ask  for  submission  to  bear  it — I 
wished  to  be  free.  I  felt,  as  long  as  this  man  had  a  tie  to  bind  me  to 
him,  I  was  nowhere  safe  from  his  cruelty.  I  thought,  if  he  heard  of 
my  being  in  the  colony,  he  would  follow  me  to  the  death.  My  mind 
consented  to  do  what  eighteen  years  before  might  have  been  easy  to 
accomplish;  but  now  it  seemed  an  impossibility.  Again  I  vowed  to 
the  Lord,  that  if  he  would  remove  the  curse  of  my  life  (I  did  not  dic- 
'tate  the  manner  or  means),  I  would  serve  him  in  any  way,  in  any  place 


VOYAGE  TO  SOUTH  AUSTRALIA.  42  I 

he  would  choose  for  me.  I  would  go  to  Karatschatka,  or  any  place 
between  the  poles;  I  would  serve  him  with  my  whole  being;  I  would 
work  where  no  one  else  would  work.  Anything  but  the  disgrace  and 
terror  of  being  this  man's  wife,  I  could  bear.  O  God,  sever  the  gall- 
ing chain  that  binds  me  to  worse  than  a  living  death. 

To  my  old  friend,  Judge  Cooper,  now  Sir  Cliarles  Cooper,  I  would 
have  introduced  the  New  Translation;  but  my  mind  was  so  bewildered, 
I  could  attend  to  no  more  business.  I  called  to  see  him,  and  he  re- 
ceived me  very  cordially.  He  told  me  he  had  just  received  letters 
from  Dijon,  France,  from  Captain  Sturt,  who  with  his  family  were 
well,  and  he  said : 

"I  shall  write  to  your  friends  that  you  have  come  back  after  having 
traveled  in  America.  They  will  be  so  glad  to  hear  from  you.  Cap- 
tain Sturt  is  a  great  friend  of  yours.    Is  Mr.  D  alive,  or  is  he  dead?" 

I  gave  the  judge  an  account  of  how  I  had  to  flee  the  country;  of 

hearing  of  Mr.  D 's  death,  and  of  my  return  on  a  mission,  and 

hearing  of  his  being  alive  when  I  had  been  in  the  city  some  time.  I 
had  no  fear  till  I  heard  that  he  was  alive,  but  now  I  was  in  great  dread 
of  him.  I  am  told  nothing  can  save  me  from  him  but  a  divorce,  and 
this  I  fear  I  can  not  obtain  after  so  long  a  time. 

"You  can  do  it  if  you  can  prove  adultery  or  bigamy  on  him." 

I  said  I  did  not  know  of  any  who  could  prove  anything  against  him. 

"Tell  me,  Sir  Charles,"  I  said,  in  great  distress,  "what  power  the 
law  gives  a  man  over  his  wife  short  of  murder?" 

Said  the  judge:  "It  gives  a  great  deal,  and  this  man,  from  what  I 
hear  of  him,  can  and  will  ruin  your  life,  if  you  do  not  escape  from  him. 
He  will  destroy  your  happiness  if  he  knows  you  are  here,  or  if  you 
acknowledge  him,  or  let  him  have  a  claim  on  you." 

"All  you  have  said  he  has  already  done.  When  I  heard  of  his 
death,  the  dark  pall  was  lifted  from  my  buried  hopes,  and  for  a  time  I 
was  comparatively  happy.  Again  hearing  that  he  was  alive,  the  pall 
descended,  and  I  am  enveloped  in  gloom  darker  than  the  grave.  1 
was  glad  to  hear  the  kind  judge  say  he  would  serve  me  in  every  way 
he  could.  He  said  I  could  have  a  legal  separation  and  a  maintenance 
from  him,  and  the  law  would  protect  me  from  violence.  I  said  I  could 
and  would  support  myself;  I  had  done  it;  I  wanted  nothing  from  him. 
Sir  Charles  explained  the  law  in  several  cases,  but  I  feared  my  case 
could  not  meet  the  requirements  of  the  law.  It  seemed  that  nothing 
short  of  superhuman  effort  could  trace  up  evidence  of  things  long  past, 
and  perhaps  forgotten,  or  witnesses  dead,  or  out  of  the  colony.     If  1 


422  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

expected  or  desired  freedom,  a  heavy  task  lay  before  me.  I  would  be 
compelled  to  speak  of  my  wrongs,  and  of  my  griefs  unspeakable. 

With  a  strong  will,  I  will  be  calm,  I  said,  or  try  to  appear  so,  though 

my  heart  was  sick  and  sinking.     My  dear  old  friend,  Mr.  N ,  of 

H y,  accompanied  me  to  the  office  of  Mr.  Bakewell.     How  my 

spirit  writhed  as  I  laid  bare  my  wrongs  to  this  man  of  business;  but  his 
business  manner  helped  me  to  express  myself.  He  saw  the  difficulties 
in  the  way,  but  he  would  leave  nothing  undone  to  bring  things  right. 
It  would  take  time.     I  asked  what  was  to  be  done. 

Mr.  Bakewell  said:  "First,  your  marriage  has  to  be  proved;  then 
Mr.  Davies'  cruelty;  then  his  crimes,  if  any;  then  his  identity  with  the 
man  who  was  to  be  brought  up." 

I  told  him  that  I  should  help  him  to  find  the  people  who  could  tes- 
tify, if  they  were  in  the  colony  or  alive,  and  with  the  energy  of  de- 
spair, I  set  to  work.  There  is  a  power  in  the  human  will,  when  bent 
with  unswerving  purpose  on  one  great  aim.  All  the  witnesses  to  my 
marriage,  even  the  Colonial  Chaplain,  who  performed  the  ceremony, 
were  dead,  only  one  was  left,  and  he  was  far  away;  but  I  found  him, 
and  I  asked  him  if  he  remembered  being  at  Mr.  Davies'  marriage. 

"His  first  or  second  marriage?"  he  asked. 

(Second  marriage!  here  was  a  revelation,  I  thought.) 

"His  first,"  I  answered. 

Yes,  he  said ;  he  was  one  of  the  groomsmen.    I  said  I  did  not  know 

Mr.  D had  been  married  twice.    He  said  he  had  heard  of  a  second 

marriage,  but  could  not  swear  to  it ;  he  had  lost  sight  of  Mr.  Davies 
for  some  years.     I  asked  him  if  he  remembered  Mrs.  Davies. 

"Yes,  and  I  think  you  are  the  lady." 

He  was  a  proprietor  of  a  large  hotel  in  the  country,  and  Mrs.  N ■ 

and  myself  had  dined  there.  I  asked  him  if  he  could  tell  me  of  any 
one  who  had  witnessed  the  second  marriage.  Some  of  his  workmen  I 
was  told  could  tell  me,  but  I  ascertained  that  all  were  dead  save  one, 

who  was  proprietor  of  a  large  hotel  at  the  port.     I  told  Mr.  H to 

be  ready  to  appear  in  court  to  identify  me  and  prove  my  marriage.     I 

then,  without  rest,  went  to  the  port,  many  miles  from  Mr.  H 's. 

Mr.  I,  N ,  son  of  my  friends,   Mr.   and  Mrs.   N ,   went  with 

me  to  Charles  G 's  hotel  at  the  port.     Mr.    N asked  Mr. 

G how  long  it  was  since  Mr.  D was  married  the  second  time. 

He  was  told,  so  long.  I  then  made  myself  known  to  my  former  em- 
ploy6.  He  seemed  alarmed  when  I  told  him  I  wished  him  to  testify 
to  a  second  marriage.     I  found  him  very  unwilling  to  answer  any  more 


VOYAGE  TO  SOUTH  AUSTRALIA.  423 

questions.  I  asked  him  and  his  wife  if  they  remembered,  or  did  they 
choose  to  forget,  the  cruelty  that  drove  me  from  the  colony ;  or  did 
they  think  I  had  returned  to  take  revenge  upon  him  who  had  so  deeply 
wronged  me?  I  told  them  if  they  had  such  thoughts  to  put  them 
away.  Revenge  belongs  not  to  me.  "Vengeance  is  mine,  saith  the 
Lord;  I  will  repay." 

"All  I  seek  is,  that  the  tie  that  binds  me  to  Mr.  D maybe 

broken — the  marriage  made  null — so  that  I  may  never  again  be  ex- 
posed to  his  malice. 

"Oh,"  said  Mr.  G ,  "if  you  do  not  wish  to  prosecute  for  cruelty 

and  bigamy,  I  can  testify  to  Mr.  D 's  second  marriage,  for  I  was 

present  at  the  marriage;  but  his  wife  and  child  are  both  dead." 

He  said  much  more,  and  Mr.  N took  notes  of  all  he  said,  read 

them  to  him,  and  had  him  put  his  name  to  them,  and  we  left.  We 
had  to  walk  a  long  distance,  and  a  fearful  storm  overtook  us.  Dark- 
ness enveloped  us,  and  we  were  nearly  blown  into  the  sea,  so  furious 
was  the  wind.     The  rain  drenched  us,  and  the  thunder  and  lightning 

were  awful.     We  had  great  difficulty  in  reaching  Mr.  N 's  house. 

I  had  dry  garments  put  on,  but  I  shivered  with  cold.  Next  day  my 
head  ached,  and  I  had  fever,  but  I  had  to  return  to  Adelaide.  My 
clothes  were  not  quite  dry,  but  I  put  them  on,  reached  Adelaide  in 
the  midst  of  another  storm  of  rain,  and  was  again  thoroughly  drenched. 
I  had  to  hunt  up  an  old  lady,  whose  daughter  had  been  my  maid,  and 

had  been  hired  by  Mr.  D as  a  spy  on  my  actions.     I  knew  not 

where  to  find  her,  no  one  knew  anything  of  her,  and  she  was  a  very 
important  link  in  the  chain  of  evidence  needed.  I  took  shelter  in  a 
store  from  the  heavy  rain.  I  leaned  my  elbow  wearily  on  the  counter, 
and  sat  drooping  and  dripping,  when  a  well-dressed  young  woman  came 
into  the  store  with  a  child  in  her  arms.  She  started  when  she  saw  me, 
and  rather  timidly  approached  me,  and  asked : 

"Are  you  Mrs.  Davies,  ma'am." 

"Yes,"  I  said;   "but  I  do  not  know  you." 

"I  am  married  now,  but  I  am  your  servant  E S ,"  she  said. 

"What!"  I  said,  "is  your  mother  alive?" 

Energy  returned  to  my  drooping  frame  when  she  said,  yes.  God 
was  surely  clearing  the  way.  I  told  her  to  take  me  right  to  where  her 
mother  was,  and  she  did  so.  I  fpiestioned  the  old  lady  in  a  friendly 
way  as  to  what  she  remembered  of  the  treachery,  cruelty  and  infidelity 

of  Mr.    D .     She  had  seen  and  knew  more   of  the  brutality  to 

which  I  had  been  subjected  than  I  expected.     She  had  been  a  sj^y  on 


424  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

Mr.  D 's  actions  as  her  daughter  had  been  on  mine.     Of  course, 

I  never  knew  anything  of  her  eavesdropping.  I  found  her  perfecdy 
willing  to  tell  all  she  knew.  Now,  I  said,  no  one  can  say  that  I  have 
prejudiced  my  friends  against  this  man,  for  I  have  found  only  his  own 
friends  who  know  aught  against  him,  and,  guided  by  an  unseen  hand, 
I  have  found  them. 

I  had  seen  Sir  Charles  Cooper  and  Mr.  Bakewell  several  times,  and 
told  them  what  I  had  done,  and  they  kindly  gave  their  opinion  on  it, 
and  gave  me  their  counsel.  Events  were  shaping  themselves  for  an 
issue.  Without  a  change  of  dress,  and  without  food  or  sleep,  I  sat 
down  in  my  wet  clothes,  with  a  fever  burning  in  my  veins — but  this 
for  the  time  made  me  strong — to  write  my  deposition,  which  took  all 
that  day  and  all  that  night ;  and  while  writing  of  cruel  deeds,  I  seemed 
to  be  living  in  the  dark  past,  with  all  my  dead  hopes  scattered  around 
me.  Tongue  can  not  tell  what  torture  I  suffered  while  writing  that 
document.  When  finished,  I  gave  it  to  the  proper  authorities,  after 
testifying  to  its  truth. 

"Great  and  merciful  God,"  I  cried,  "let  not  the  wicked  triumph 
over  me." 

The  dreaded,  yet  longed-for,  day  arrived.     My  faithful  friend,  Mrs. 

N ,  sat  by  me  in  the  great  court-house.     The  Hon.  Judge  Quinn, 

in  his  official  robes  and  huge  powdered  wig,  on  the  bench.  The  law- 
yers, in  their  full  white  wigs  and  black  gowns,  were  all  very  imposing 
as  they  bent  over  their  important  documents.  I  sat  as  if  I  were  in  a 
dream.  I  could  not  realize  that  I  had  an  important  part  to  act  in  the 
drama  that  was  passing  before  me.  Presently,  without  apparent  cause, 
I  began  to  shiver  and  tremble.     Mrs.  N whispered  : 

"What  ails  you?" 

"He  is  here,"  I  said,  although  I  had  not  heard  any  one,  or  seen 
any  one  enter. 

Just  then  a  man  passed  by  in  front  of  us  and  took  a  seat  a  little 
below,  then  turned  and  stared  at  me  so  broadly  that  I  had  to  lower  a 
second  veil  over  my  face,  and  I  cowered  with  an  indefinable  dread. 
And  thus  we  met  for  the  first  time  in  eighteen  years. 

"O  God,  save  me  from  this  man,"  I  prayed. 

I  felt  his  presence  in  every  nerve  of  my  frame.  His  bold  staring 
brought  a  severe  rebuke  upon  him  from  the  bench,  and  his  insolent 
manner  brought  a  second  and  more  severe  one  for  his  unmannerly  and 
unmanly  conduct.  He  was  threatened  with  punishment  for  contempt 
of  court.     He  was  defying  the  law,  though  he  was  in  its  grip.     He 


VOYAGE  TO  SOUTH  AUSTRALIA.  425 

was  playing  with  lightning  and  it  scathed  him.  He  thought  to  intim- 
idate the  court  as  he  had  done  me.  Poor  man !  His  three  friends 
in  simple  justice  to  my  cause,  gave  evidence  to  a  few  startling  facts. 
One  link  in  the  chain  of  evidence  was  wanting,  and  how  to  find  that 
no  one  could  tell.  Mr.  D left  the  court-house  in  triumph.  With- 
out the  missing  link,  the  work  already  done  was  valueless,  and  he 
poured  out  threatenings  against  me  for  bringing  him  there.     I  was 

carried  home  to  Mr.  N 's  house  more  dead  than  alive.     I  laid  me 

down  and  groaned  in  anguish.  I  asked  why  the  Lord  stood  afar  off 
from  me,  and  hid  himself  from  me,  when  I  was  in  such  ♦rouble? 
Again  I  asked,  "Will  nothing  but  death  give  me  peace?  Oh,  then, 
let  me  die  and  be  at  rest." 

As  Mr.  N and  family  knelt  around  my  bed  that  night,  I  heard 

the  good  man  pray  for  strength  to  be  given  to  the  weak,  the  balm  of 
Gilead  for  the  heart-wounded,  and  peace  to  the  troubled  mind. 
"Have  mercy,  O  God,  on  the  weary  wanderer,  whose  pathway  has 
been  rough  and  thorny,  and  the  poor  thing  has  fainted  by  the  way. 
Restore  her  to  health  of  body  and  mind,  if  it  be  thy  will ;  if  not,  take 
her  to  thyself  in  peace."     Amen. 

"Take  me  home,  take  me  home,  for  I  am  very  weary,"  I  said. 

But  my  work  was  not  yet  done;  God's  purpose  not  yet  complete. 

I  was  taken  to  the  court-house  next  day,  and  in  consideration  of  my 

illness  was  taken  to  a  private  room.     Mrs.  N ,  with  her  motherly 

care,  was  at  my  side.  A  clergyman  came  into  the  room  with  a  large 
book  under  his  arm ;  Mr.  Bakewell  followed.  The  book  was  opened, 
and  the  two  gentlemen  compared  the  writing  in  the  book  with  written 
papers  on  hand.  They  shook  their  heads  and  were  not  satisfied.  Mr. 
Bakewell  seemed  annoyed.  He  asked  me  if  I  knew  the  handwriting 
in  one  of  the  papers.  I  said  I  did  not.  This  added  to  his  disappoint- 
ment. I  asked  permission  to  look  at  the  clergyman's  book.  I  found 
it  full  of  names,  written  in  different  hands.  It  was  a  record,  or  regis- 
ter. I  was  about  to  shut  the  book,  it  did  not  interest  me,  when  a 
name  caught  my  eye,  and  I  said,  I  know  that  handwriting.  The 
clergyman  looked  at  the  name  and  left  the  room.  Presently  I  was 
called  into  the  court-room  and  put  on  oath.  Several  papers  were  put 
into  my  hands,  and  I  was  asked  if  I  knew  the  writing. 

"No,"  I  said. 

An  open  register  of  names  was  placed  before  me.  I  was  asked  if  I 
knew  any  of  the  writing  on  the  face  of  the  book.  I  said,  pointing  to 
one  signature,  that  I  knew  that  one,  and  that  was  enough.      That  was 


426  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

the  fnissing  link.  On  this  the  case  hinged.  A  learned  discussion  took 
place  in  court,  and  I  was  led  out  almost  unconscious.  At  the  door  I 
met  Sir  Charles  Cooper,  who  was  watching  the  case  closely,  but  could 
not  sit  on  it,  as  he  had  given  me  private  advice  as  a  friend.  The 
clergyman  was  just  saying  to  Mrs.  N ,  "We  have  a  very  interest- 
ing case  going  on  in  court  just  now." 

Mrs.  N pointed  to  me,  and  said:  "This  lady  is  the  plaintiff  in 

the  case." 

He  turned  to  me,  and  said:  "Madam,  you  have  my  profoundest 
sympathy,  and  I  hope  the  verdict  will  be  yours.  You  have  right  on 
your  side." 

I  bowed.  I  was  taken  home  to  bed.  The  excitement  and  exposure 
through  which  I  had  passed  prostrated  me,  and  I  lay  down  not  caring 
whether  I  should  ever  rise  again.  I  lay  helpless  for  many  days. 
When  the  full  Court  met,  with  Sir  Charles  Cooper  at  its  head,  and  sat 

in  judgment  on  the  case,  it  gave  me  a  verdict,  and  Mr.  D had  to 

pay  all  costs  on  both  sides.  When  the  decision  of  the  Court  was  writ- 
ten on  parchment,  signed,  sealed  and  delivered  to  me,  how  did  I  feel? 
My  prayer  had  been  heard  and  answered  by  a  prayer-hearing  and 
prayer-answering  God,  and  I  was  legally  and  morally  free.  It  is  well 
for  poor,  weak  humanity  that  our  heavenly  Father  is  long-suffering  and 
patient  with  his  poor  creatures.  I  had  not  felt  that  I  was  rebelling 
against  God;  I  only  felt  tempest-tossed,  and  was  seeking  refuge  from 
the  storm.  I  said  I  could  not  live  if  I  were  not  free;  now  I  was  free, 
and  I  felt  less  like  living  than  ever.  Now  the  victory  was  mine,  but, 
alas,  for  the  triumph;  alas,  for  an  approving  conscience.  I  had  no 
consolation  in  any  or  all  of  these.  I  was  mentally  and  physically  pros- 
trated, until  I  heard  that  Mr.  D was  breathing  out  threatenings 

and  curses  against  me.  Mr.  Bakewell  told  me  that  my  safety  depended 
upon  the  incarceration  of  Mr.  D ,  and  that  this  must  be  done.  I  said, 

'  'This  must  not  be  done ;  not  one  hair  of  this  man's  head  shall  suffer 
on  my  account.  Vengeance  or  revenge  does  not  belong  to  me.  God 
knows  I  forgive  him  all  the  injuries  he  has  ever  done  me.  Now  that 
he  is  in  my  power,  and  the  law  of  the  land  supports  me  to  bring  him 
to  punishment,  I  will  show  that  I  have  freely  forgiven  him,  by  paying 
all  his  indebtedness  to  the  Court.  This  done,  as  soon  as  I  am  well 
enough,  I  shall  leave  the  colony,  and  never  more  cross  his  path,  and 
may  he  turn  to  the  Lord,  and  live  in  peace." 

All  I  prayed  for  was  that  the  law  would  not  give  him  dominion  over 
me. 


VOYAGE  TO  SOUTH  AUSTRALIA.  427 

"We  shall  see  to  it  that  he  does  not  cross  your  path,  or  trouble  you 
in  any  way.  We  shall  notify  him  that  if  he  interferes  with  you  in  any 
way,  the  Crown  will  prosecute  him  for  bigamy." 

I  said:   "Pray  do  not  press  a  vanquished  man;  let  mercy  prevail." 
"Your   kindness  to  him  is  entirely  unmerited;    your  forbearance 
almost  more  than  human." 

"My  Master  has  told  me  to  bless  them  who  curse  me,  and  to  do 
good  to  them  that  hate  me,  and  pray  for  them  who  despitefully  use  me 
and  persecute  me." 

In  settling  accounts  with  Mr.  Bakewell,  he  said,  in  getting  the  case 
up  I  had  done  the  work  of  two  men,  and  that  what  services  he  had 
rendered,  he  cheerfully  rendered  to  me  for  nothing,  as  a  friend — that 
I  had  done  the  most  difficult  part  of  the  work,  and  he  had  no  trouble 
in  the  case.  All  the  other  expenses  were  paid,  but  by  whom  I  never 
knew. 

I  can  never  cease  to  be  grateful  to  God  for  raising  up  around  me  so 
many  Christian  friends,  who  were  untiring  in  their  efforts  to  restore  me 

to  myself  again.     Brother  M ,  Dr   K ,  Mr.  Neil,  Mr.  Angas, 

Mr.  Bakewell  (the  last  three  are  dead  now),  and  Mr.  B ,  with  their 

Christian  families,  will  ever  be  remembered  by  me  at  the  throne  of 

grace,  for  their  kindness  to  me  in  those  darkest  hours.    Mr.  B ,  with 

more  feeling  than  reason,  said  that  God  had  sent  me  to  be  a  blessing  to 
him,  and  his. 

"Be  my  wife,  he  said,  "and  I  will  shield  you  from  the  ills  of  life  as 
far  as  one  mortal  can  shield  another.  I  will  make  a  happy  home  for 
you;  will  you  come  to  it?" 

I  said;   "Oh,  Mr.  B ,  this  can  never  be;  my  wounds  can  not  be 

healed  in  this  way.  I  can  not  entertain  the  thought  for  a  moment.  I 
appreciate  your  kindness,  but  I  can  never  be  anything  but  a  friend  to 
you.  Do  not  think  of  me  any  more;  do  not  talk  to  me  any  more  on 
the  subject,  for  it  is  painful." 

A  few  days  later,  I  was  on  a  short  visit  to   Dr.  K 's,  and  was 

sick  in  bed,  when  a  messenger  came  from  Mr.  B ,  to  tell  mc  that 

Mr.  D had  gone   to  Gawlor,  a  town  thirty  miles  from  the  city,  to 

visit  friends,  and  that  "yesterday  he  dropped  down  dead,  and  was 
buried  to-day." 

"Merciful  Father,"  I  cried,  and  I  sprang  out  of  bed,  and  said,  "I 
shall  visit  his  grave  to-morrow." 

"You  are  crazy;  you  are  not  able,"  the  doctor  said. 

"Yes,  I  know  I  am  crazy;  that  is  why  I  wish,  why  I  must  go  and 


428  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

see  his  grave.  I  hunted  for  it  one  day,  but  could  not  find  it;  perhaps 
now  I  will  be  more  successful.  Do  not  try  to  dissuade  me,  for  I  am 
going." 

"You  are  mad  to  attempt  it.     It  is  as  much  as  your  life  is  worth." 
"My  life  is  of  little  value  at  present,  and  if  I  forfeit  it,  well!    I  shall 
make  the  attempt." 

And  in  the  face  of  the  opposition  of  my  friends,  who  thought  the 
step  unwise,  I  went  to  Gawlor,  and  wading  through  tall  rank  grass  satu- 
rated with  the  night's  rain,  I  stood  by  his  grave  at  last,  with  a  weight 
of  anguish  bound  on  my  life,  crushing  out  love  and  youth,  and,  as  far 
as  this  world  was  concerned,  hope.  My  sick  soul  was  darkened  with 
shadows  from  my  past  sufferings.  The  man  who  had  ruined  my  life, 
and  blighted  my  happiness,  and  made  my  life  a  hard  and  bitter  thing, 
lay  at  my  feet.  I  had  in  my  woman's  helplessness  to  struggle  alone 
against  the  world  in  sighs  and  tears.  I  have  carried  a  quivering, 
stricken  human  heart  within  me,  but  all  unknown  to  the  world  through 
which  I  was  struggling.  What  a  strange  moment,  when  I  stood  beside 
the  new  laid  turf,  that  covered  all  the  earthly  part  of  him  who  had 
been  the  main  spring  of  all  my  grief.  The  terror  of  my  life  lay  quietly 
sleeping  at  my  feet.  I  stood  there  in  lonely  thought  beside  the  voice- 
less dead.  No  more  passions  will  disturb  the  breast  of  the  dreamless 
sleeper;  his  race  is  run,  his  journey's  ended  in  his  manhood's  prime, 

"  How  still  and  peaceful  is  the  grave, 
Where  life's  vain  tumults  past ; 
The  appointed  house  by  heaven's  decree 
Receives  us  all  at  last." 

I  asked  myself  if  I  had  freely,  fully  forgiven  him.  I  bowed  before 
God,  and  said:   "As  I  hope  to  be  forgiven,  so  I  forgive." 

The  fiery  trials  through  which  I  had  passed  made  a  brand  too  deep 
to  fade,  but  I  was  free  from  that  haunting  terror.  I  was  only  weary, 
and  I  longed  for  rest. 

Mr.  Angas  wished  me  to  spend  a  few  months  with  his  family  in  the 
country ;  but  I  was  too  sick-  to  go  so  far. 

At  Mr.  M 's  they  did  everything  that  ingenuity  could  devise  for 

my  well  being.  Even  little  Lilly  beguiled  me  of  many  painful  hours. 
I  asked  God  again  and  again  to  bless  him  and  his  forever,  for  their 
kindness  to  the  sick  stranger  within  their  gate.  And  now  I  say  amen 
to  that  prayer. 

Everybody  was  kind  and  good,  but  I  felt  that  I  could  not  get  well 


VOYAGE  TO  SOUTH  AUSTRALIA. 


429 


in  Adelaide.     I  must  leave  it,  much  as  I  loved  my  old  and  new  made 

friends.     Mr.  B renewed  his  suit,  now  that  Mr.  D was  dead, 

but  I  told  him  to  let  me  pass  from  his  mind  like  a  troubled  dream,  for 
I  could  be  nothing  more  to  him. 

I  prepared  to  leave  friends  who  had  endeared  themselves  by  every 
Christian  tie,  and  the  love  I  have  for  them  ends  only  with  my  life.  I 
paid  a  farewell  visit  to  Shirley.  Mrs.  Bakewell  put  her  arms  around 
my  neck,  and  said : 

"You  did  not,  could  not,  realize  that  you  were  free,  by  having  only 
that  which  man  could  give  you;  but  now,  my  dear  friend,  God  has 
given  you  a  double  freedom.  You  must  try  and  be  happy,  now  that 
you  have  nothing  to  fear." 

"The  wounds  I  have  received  can  not  heal  without  scars;  they  were 
too  deep.  I  have  nothing  in  this  world  to  fear,  or  yet  hope  for;  I  am 
alone,  and  have  nothing  to  do,  only  as  God  will  use  me,  as  an  instru- 
ment in  his  hand  to  do  good  to  others." 

The  farewells  were  spoken,  and  I  went  on  board  the  Ann  and  Jam  ^ 
and  was  once  more  afloat. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

RETURN  TO  NEW  SOUTH  WALES,   AND  TEACHING  IN  THE  BUSH. 

Captain  Smith  was  a  man  of  large  frame,  with  a  face  like  fire,  and 
a  stentorian  voice.  He  looked  to  me  like  a  high-tempered,  hard-drink- 
ing man.  Appearances  were  all  against  him.  If  the  vessel  gave  a 
lurch,  his  voice  from  the  breakfast  table  was  heard  above  the  winds, 
giving  orders  to  the  man  at  the  wheel.  In  a  moment  he  was  at  the  bow 
of  the  brig,  shouting  to  the  men  aloft,  then  down  to  the  breakfast  table 
again.     I  was  afraid  of  tke  burly  captain's  thundering  voice.     He  was 

a  particular  friend  of  Mr.  I.  N and  I  was  by  that  gendeman  put 

under  the  special  care  of  the  captain,  who  at  first  refused  to  take  me. 

"A  sick  lady,  indeed!  I  want  no  such  passenger.  It  would  be, 
'Captain,  I  want  this,  and  captain,  I  want  that,  and  I  could  not  attend 
to  the  brig  and  the  peevish  sick  lady;  and  she  would  take  up  the  stew- 
ard's whole  time.'." 

I  heard  this  rough  speech,  and  I  would  not  have  asked  to  go  on  his 
brig,  but  it  was  the  only  vessel  for  Sydney,  and  he  was  well  known 
to  my  friends.  So  I  overcame  my  repugnance  to  the  man,  and 
begged,  with  almost  tears  in  my  eyes,  to  be  taken  to  Sydney.  I  said, 
with  quivering  voice : 

"I  shall  not  be  troublesome,  captain." 

You  poor,  pale-faced  thing,  are  you  the  sick  lady?  Well,  I  think  I 
shall  have  pity  on  you  and  take  you.  I  have  a  man  and  his  wife  in 
the  steerage;  I  shall  give  the  woman  a  free  passage  to  wait  on  you." 

I  was  installed  in  a  cozy  litde  cabin,  with  a  chest  of  drawers  and 
otherwise  nicely  furnished,  and  a  good,  clean  bed,  and  that  was  a  great 
luxury.  This  was  all  I  wanted,  and  I  lay  down,  and  was  only  once 
on  deck  in  all  the  two  weeks'  voyage.  At  every  meal  I  could  hear 
the  captain  say  to  the  steward, 

"See  if  that  poor  thing  wants  anything." 

To  the  question,  my  constant  answer  was, 

"No,  thank  you." 

At  night  I  would  ask  for  a  glass  of  water  to  be  placed  by  me,  and 
in  the  morning  it  would  be  removed  untouched.  This  state  of  affairs 
lasted  a  week.     I  was  very  sick  besides  being  sea-sick.     One  day  the 

(430) 


RETURN  TO  N.  S.   WALES,  AND  TEACHING  IN  THE  EUSH.  43 1 

vessel  pitched  very  suddenly  and  rolled  the  captain  into  my  room, 
very  unceremoniously,  throwing  him  down  into  a  seat.  Fortunately 
he  was  not  hurt. 

"Well,"  he  said,  "the  Ann  and  Jane  is  not  very  polite  to  pitch  me 
in  here,  but  now  that  I  am  in,  I  must  tell  you,  you  are  not  doing  to 
my  liking.  You  need  not  be  frightened,  you  poor  thing.  I  do  not 
like  those  blue  rings  round  your  eyes,  nor  your  pale  cheeks,  nor  your 
lying  there,  and  at  every  meal  when  asked  if  you  want  anything,  'No, 
thank  you.'  You  don't  give  trouble  enough.  I  am  afraid  you  are  too 
sick  for  that.  Now  I  must  look  after  you.  The  woman  that  I  had  to 
wait  on  you  gives  more  trouble  than  you  do.  I  have  sent  her  back  to 
the  steerage  for  her  husband  to  nurse  her  and  feed  her,  as  she  is  fond  of 
eating.  You  have  not  asked  for  one  thing  save  water  since  you  have 
been  on  board.  I  shall  have  some  nice  soup  or  gruel,  and  you  must 
take  some  nourishment,  or  you  will  die.  I  shall  carry  you  upon  deck, 
where  the  fresh  air  will  revive  and  strengthen  you.     Now  1  must  go." 

I  thanked  him  for  his  kindness. 

"No  thanks,  but  do  as  I  tell  you." 

Three  times  that  day  I  tried  to  get  up,  but  fainted  every  time,  and 
so  gave  up  the  effort.  Another  day  I  wrapped  a  cloak  around  me, 
and  the  captain  carried  me  up  on  deck  as  if  I  had  been  a  baby.  He 
put  me  in  a  basket  chair  and  lashed  it  to  a  mast;  then  fastened  me  to 
the  chair  and  propped  me  up  with  pillows,  put  an  ottoman  under  my 
feet,  and  over  me  and  the  chair  he  threw  a  rug,  tucking  it  in  all  around 
me.  His  gentle,  lamb  like  voice,  his  tender  manner  to  me,  was  as 
surprising  as  would  have  been  such  gentleness  from  a  grizzly  bear. 
Good  old  Captain  Smith  was  like  a  father  to  me.  I  had  formed  a 
wrong  opinion  of  him.  He  was  a  gentle-hearted  giant.  We  had  a 
pleasant  voyage  from  port  to  port  with  but  one  storm.  We  sighted 
Sydney  Heads  one  Sunday  morning,  when  the  captain  asked  me  if  I 
would  like  to  go  to  church  that  day.  I  said  I  would,  and  he  said  ho 
would  take  me. 

"I  think  it  is  right  to  thank  God  for  preserving  us  on  our  voyage." 

I  found  this  rough  sailor  a  true  Christian  in  word  and  deed,  gentle 
in  heart,  sober  in  habits,  kind  and  attentive  to  the  sick,  and  full  of 
sympathy  for  the  sorrowing.  As  I  entered  the  harbor,  I  thought  of 
the  revolutions  that  had  been  wrought  in  me  and  my  affairs  since  I 
had  sailed  out  of  it  six  months  before.  Where  was  the  barfjue 
Miami  in  which  I  sailed?  A  wreck  on  the  ocean  with  her  heavy 
freight.     Where  was  I  ?     A  wreck  on  the  ocean  of  life. 


432  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE, 

We  cast  anchor  in  the  evening.  The  captain  lowered  his  boat  and 
took  me  to  the  Baptist  Church,  of  which  Mr.  Voller  had  the  oversight. 
I  hstened  to  the  organ  tones  of  the  captaui's  voice  while  they  were 
singing  I  introduced  the  captain  to  Mr.  Voller  after  the  service. 
They  were  fast  friends  ever  after.  I  had  to  go  back  to  the  ship  to 
sleep  that  night,  in  order  to  pack  up  for  landing  early  in  the  morning, 
as  the  captain  had  to  prosecute  his  voyage  to  New  Castle.  He  had 
nothing  to  do  at  Sydney  but  land  me.  On  leaving  the  ship  the  captain 
returned  me  one- half  of  my  passage  money.  I  asked  what  this  was 
for? 

"I  thought  you  would  be  troublesome  on  board,  and  I  charged 
accordingly,  but  you  not  only  gave  no  trouble  at  all,  but  you  were  too 
quiet,  and  you  ate  nothing,  so  I  can  not  make  you  pay  for  what  you 
did  not  have.  Now  my  advice  is,  consult  a  doctor,  get  well  as  fast  as 
you  can,  and  on  my  next  voyage  to  New  Castle,  I  shall  put  in  here 
and  take  you  with  me  a  pleasure  trip,  and  any  of  your  lady  friends 
you  may  please  to  take  with  you.  I  shall  make  you  comfortable  and 
charge  you  nothing.  I  shall  at  any  time  you  wish  be  happy  to  give 
you  a  free  passage  back  to  Adelaide,"  he  said. 

At  this  I  shook  my  head. 

"Well,  get  well  and  go  with  me  to  New  Castle." 

And  so  my  new  friend  and  I  parted. 

This  shipowner's  treatment  of  me  and  that  of  the  owner  of  the 
Miami  were  very  different.  Captain  Smith  was  a  Christian,  that  made 
all  the  difference. 

I  consulted  Dr.  Brerton,  who  told  me  that  my  nervous  system  was 
entirely  destroyed,  and  my  vital  energies  crushed  out  of  me;  but  he 
hoped  in  time  to  restore  me.  He  recommended  the  Turkish  Bath, 
and  for  me  to  live  perfectly  quiet  and  out  of  doors  as  much  as  possi- 
ble. My  life  at  present  hung  on  a  brittle  thread.  I  must  not  be 
excited  on  any  account. 

My  friend  Mr.  H ,  though  I  had  forbidden  him  to  write,  wrote 

regularly.      First  he  wrote  of  his  great  disappointment,  then  of  his 

sympathy,  then  of .     To  all  of  which  I  had  nothing  to  say.     He 

came  to  Sydney  to  meet  me;  was  delighted  to  see  me,  and  said: 

"How  well  you  look." 

Something  must  have  blinded  him.  He  had  come  with  the  firm 
purpose  of  carrying  me  off  home  with  him  as  his  own.  His  words 
were  daggers  to  me.  I  could  not  speak  but  in  monosyllables.  I  had 
no  chord  that  could  now  be  touched  by  his  passionate  speeches.    Days 


RETURN  TO  N.   S.   WALES,   AXD  TEACHING  IN  THE  BUSH.  433 

passed,  and  still  he  lingered.  He  asked  me  why  I  was  so  tardy  in 
fulfilling  my  promise;  the  time  was  past.  I  roused  myself  with  great 
effort,  and  said : 

"Do  not  rest  your  plea  on  the  promise  I  made  to  you  a  few  months 
ago,  for  in  the  sight  of  high  heaven  I  had  no  right  to  make  it,  the 
world's  opinion  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding;  but  I  did  it  in  pro- 
found ignorance  of  my  real  condition.  God  saved  me  from  the  peril- 
ous precipice  on  the  brink  of  which  I  stood,  and  that  promise  is  null. 
You  are  nothing  to  me  now,  nor  I  to  you,  save  a  friend." 

He  urged  me  by  every  kind  of  entreaty  to  have  a  quiet  marriage 
and  go  to  his  home  with  him,  where  all  were  expecting  me.  I  told 
him  I  could  not  bring  him  happiness  or  help,  so  I  must,  in  considera- 
tion for  him  and  his,  refuse.  I  was  enchained  by  a  feeling  of  desola- 
tion. Everything  wore  the  hue  of  death,  and  all  was  marked  with 
vanity.     My  tried  heart  was  wasted,  and  my  thoughts  were  nothing 

worth.     Mr.  H after  a  few  weeks  left  Sydney,  having  extorted 

from  me  an  unwilling  promise  that  if  I  recovered  my  health  in  three 
months  I  should  marry  him.  I  was  sorry  for  him,  but  his  presence  to 
me  was  torture.  I  felt  relief  when  he  went  away.  Time  was  passing 
and  I  was  no  better.     I  looked  forward  with  dread  to  the  end  of  the 

three  months.     A  few  more  days  and  then  the  end.     Mrs.  I ,  a 

friend,  said : 

"We  must  go  out  to  day  and  do  some  shopping.  I  declare,  you 
have  not  prepared  a  single  thing  for  the  wedding,  and  you  know  this 
day  week  is  to  be  the  great  day." 

I  told  her  I  was  weary  and  would  lie  down,  and  as  I  lay  I  dreamed, 

though  not  asleep.     When  Mrs.  I was  ready  for  business,  I  told 

her  that  it  was  needless  for  me  to  prepare,  for  Mr.  H and  I  should 

never  be  wed. 

"Yes  you  will,  in  a  week,"  she  said. 

Never  shall  I  marry  any  man  with  the  feeling  that  I  have.     Instead 

of  preparing,  I  sat  down  to  pen  a  few  lines  to  Mr.  H ,  full  of  dark 

shadows.  My  pen  was  dipped  in  gloom.  I  told  my  friend,  as  it  was 
impossible  for  me  to  take  duties  on  myself  for  which  I  was  utterly 
incapable,  and  feeling  myself  bound  by  an  unwilling  promise  to  do  so, 
only  retarded  my  recovery;  and  if  he  really  cared  for  me,  he  would 
release  me  from  the  promise ;  for  I  felt  that  I  could  not  make  him 
happy.  The  dark  past  was  ever  throwing  shadows  around  me.  Noth- 
ing seemed  able  to  expel  the  gloom.  I  could  not  rouse  up  to  take  an 
interest  in  anything.  I  told  him  to  forcet  me.  For  myself,  I  had 
28 


434 


THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 


drunk  the  cup  of  bitterness  to  the  dregs,  and  there  was  nothing  for  me 
but  to  endure.  I  packed  up  all  his  letters  and  his  likeness,  and  sent 
them  to  him,  and  asked  him  to  return  mine.  He  wrote  a  farewell  letter 
to  me,  but  did  not  return  mine  for  years  after.     We  never  met  again. 

On  my  return  from  Adelaide,  I  had  letters  waiting  to  be  opened  from 
America.  One  announced  the  death  of  my  dear  friend  Judge  Edmunds. 
The  American  Bible  Union  received  a  great  blow  when  he  was  called 
away  from  his  labors.  The  war  was  raging,  and  there  was  no  hope 
for  my  return  to  America  now. 

A  letter  in  the  Harbinger  read  as  follows : 

CONTRIBUTIONS  TO  THE  MUSEUM  OF  BETHANY  COLLEGE. 
We  are  pleased  to  acknowledge  a  box  of  valuable  natural  curiosities  presented 
to  the  Museum  of  Bethany  College  from  New  South  Wales,  Australia,  by  our 
zealous  sister,  E.  Davies.  It  consists  of  some  curious  implements  of  art  used  by 
the  natives,  and  many  valuable  and  interesting  specimens  of  the  animal  produc- 
tions of  that  far-off  land.  A  fine  assortment  of  sponges,  some  very  curious  and 
rare ;  a  beautiful  collection  of  sea  grasses,  and  a  case  of  thirty  or  forty  varieties 
of  birds,  all  differing  in  size,  in  form  or  plumage,  from  any  varieties  known  in 
the  United  States.  The  present  is  one  to  gladden  the  eyes  of  a  naturalist,  and 
will  elicit  for  Sister  Davies  the  thanks  of  many  a  friend  of  hers  and  of  Bethany 
College.  We  hope  she  will  appreciate  the  worth  of  this  good  service  enough  to 
be  stimulated  to  repeat  the  kindness,  and  that  we  shall  have  the  pleasure  of  ac- 
knowledging other  contributions  to  the  Museum  of  Bethany  College. 

Wm.  K.  Pendt-eton. 

I  was  pleased  to  read  this  letter,  seeing  that  my  labor  of  collecting 
and  preserving  and  packing  my  specimens  was  not  lost,  and  that  in 
the  midst  of  the  war  they  safely  reached  their  destination. 

I  wrote  to  Mr.  Campbell,  giving  him  a  full  account  of  my  voyage  to 
Adelaide. 

As  our  brethren  had  no  church  in  Sydney,  and  I  wished  to  belong 
to  a  church,  I  wrote  to  the  Baptist  Church  of  which  I  was  once  a  mem- 
ber under  another  pastor.  I  asked  for  admission,  though  I  did  not 
believe  in  their  creed,  and  I  objected  to  some  other  things  that  they 
practiced.  They  might  also  object  to  me  on  account  of  my  objections 
to  them,  and  they  might  object  to  me  calling  myself  simply  a  Christian, 
with  no  creed  but  the  Bible.  They  did  not  object,  but  gladly  received 
me.  The  Rev.  James  Voller,  pastor,  was  very  anxious  to  know  what 
I  objected  to.  I  told  him  creeds,  pew  rents,  the  monthly  communion 
and  the  title  Reverend.  He  said  he  had  heard  of  some  people  who 
.were  .called  Campbellites,  who  did  not  believe  in  the  work  of  the  Holy 


RETURN  TO  N.   S.  WALES,  AND  TEACHING  IN  THE  BUSH.  435 

Spirit,  and  believed  strange  doctrines.  I  gave  him  a  small  book  to 
read,  Principles  of  the  Reformation,  by  Dr.  Richardson.  When  he  read 
the  work,  he  exclaimed : 

"If  that  be  Campbellism,  I  am  a  Campbellite  from  this  day." 

I  said  it  was  Christianity.  I  supplied  him  with  Mr.  Campbell's 
works,  and  reform  began  at  Mr.  VoUer's  door-plate.  The  "Reverend" 
was  cut  off;  there  were  no  more  pew  rents;  the  supper  was  adminis- 
tered weekly;  the  Bible  was  more  read.  I  felt  very  much  at  home 
with  my  Baptist  brethren.     Time  passed,  and  reform  went  on. 

Mr.  VoUer's  health  failed,  and  he  gave  up  his  charge,  and  went 
to  Queensland,  saying  that,  if  health  permitted,  he  would  plant  a 
church  on  Christian  principles  in  his  new  home.  An  orthodox  min- 
ister was  sent  from  England  to  fill  Mr.  VoUer's  place,  and  he  put  a 
check  on  the  reform,  and  caused  many  of  the  more  enlightened  to 
leave  the  church,  and  join  the  Disciples,  who  had  meantime  planted  a 
congregation  in  Sydney. 

I  was  months  ill  ere  my  physical  strength  returned. 

"Eureka!   Eureka!"  cried  a  young  gentleman  friend  one  day  to  me. 

"What?  Where?"  I  asked. 

"Why,  a  place  out  of  the  way,  where  no  one  will  go  to,  or  stay  at, 
or  work  in,  because  the  people  are  so  wicked,  and  the  young  people 
perishing  for  instruction,  and  plenty  of  wild  children  there;  but  no  re- 
spectable person  will  stay  among  the  people,  or  take  hold  of  the  chil- 
dren to  do  them  good.  I  heard  you  say  that  you  wanted  to  go  to  such 
a  place,  destitute  and  wicked.     Will  you  go  there?" 

My  emphatic  "Yes,  I  will,"  rather  st;^rtled  my  young  friend,  who 
said  laughingly, 

"I  thought  you  were  only  talking  romantic  sentimentalism,  and  like 
others  I  know,  when  a  real  case  came  before  you,  you  would  shrink 
from  difficulty  or  danger." 

"No,  Robert,  if  the  Lord  has  work  to  be  done  in  that  dangerous 
locality  that  I  can  do,  let  me  go  to  it.  I  have  no  choice.  I  have 
vowed  to  the  Lord,  and  to  him  I  will  perform  my  vows." 

Robert  Dixson  was  son  of  my  friends  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dixson.     Mr. 

D was  a  tobacco  manufacturer  and  merchant.    Robert,  with  a  few 

other  young  gentlemen,  formed  what  was  called  the  Juvenile  Hush 
Missionary  Society.  Their  work  was  to  go  out  to  the  suburbs,  the 
highways  and  by-ways,  and  places  out  of  all  ways,  with  tracts,  and  talk 
to  the  people,  and  do  what  good  they  could.  They  had  gone  farther 
than  usual  one  Sunday,  and  they  came  upon  this  out  of  the  way  place. 


436  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

Robert  and  I  started  one  day  to  visit  North  Sydney.  We  crossed 
Port  Jackson,  and  walked  up  on  the  nortli  side  tlirough  several  miles 
of  forest  land,  over  rocks  and  down  into  gullies,  winding  up  and  down, 
out  and  in,  and  treading  the  way  under  a  broiling  sun,  until  my  head 
ached,  and  my  feet  were  fairly  blistered.  I  was  not  strong,  and  I  had 
to  sit  down  on  the  road,  or  on  a  rock  rather,  for  there  was  no  road.  I 
rose  and  dragged  along,  till  we  reached  a  hut  hidden  away  in  the  bush. 
I  was  not  able  to  walk  back  to  town,  so  I  lodged  where  I  was  for  the 
night.  Robert  Dixson  introduced  me  to  the  people,  and  then  walked 
home. 

Next  morning  I  took  a  child  to  conduct  me  over  the  place.  I  found 
a  great  many  huts  spread  over  a  wide  extent.  I  saw  dirty,  ragged 
children.  I  asked  the  equally  dirty  mothers  if  they  would  like  to  send 
their  children  to  school.  Some  said  that  they  had  no  school  to  send 
to;  others  said  they  had  no  clothes  to  wear;  others  that  they  had  no 
money  to  pay  for  school,  and  others  asked  me, 

"What  will  ye  gie  us  to  send  our  childer  to  school?" 

I  found  the  people  low,  ignorant,  vicious  and  drunken,  living  by 
stealing.  They  were  liars  and  swearers;  the  fear  of  God  was  not  be- 
fore their  eyes,  nor  did  they  regard  the  laws  of  man.  They  were  so 
hidden  away  in  the  dense  bush,  that  but  very  few  knew  of  their  scat- 
tered village.  The  people  here  were  in  perishing  need  of  the  restraints 
and  purifying  influences  of  the  Gospel,  and  Christianity  might  be  the 
salvation  of  some  of  these  reprobates.  At  least  the  children  might  be 
rescued.  Freed  from  the  restraints  of  law,  morality  and  religion,  many 
of  them  gloried  in  their  shame,  and  looked  with  suspicion  and  dread 
upon  every  attempt  made,  to  introduce  among  them  the  light  and  in- 
fluence of  the  truth.  I  found  a  strong  disinclination  among  them  to 
have  me  settle  in  their  midst.  They  preferred  to  have  no  school  for 
their  children,  if  it  was  at  all  likely  to  interfere  with  their  vicious 
habits.  However,  I  talked  kindly  to  some  of  the  mothers  about  their 
children,  and  told  them  some  of  the  advantages  of  education,  and  so  I 
gained  the  promise  of  a  few,  that  they  would  send  their  children  to 
school,  if  I  should  begin  one. 

June  16,  1862,  I  opened  school  at  North  Sydney  with  eighteen  chil- 
dren. To  a  worldling  the  prospect  of  a  good  Hving  would  have  been 
gloomy  in  the  extreme.  However,  '  'Man  does  not  live  by  bread  alone. " 
With  this  motto,  I  began  in  God's  strength  to  work  while  it  was  called 
day.  I  felt  that  if  I  did  my  Master's  work  faithfully.  He  would  help 
me  in  time  of  need. 


RETURN  TO  N.   S.   WALES,   AND  TEACHING  IN  THE  BUSH.  437 

The  little  hut  in  which  I  began  to  work  was  hidden  away  in  the  tall 
weeds  and  underbrush,  but  we  cleared  a  space  around  it.  The  tin  roof 
was  so  low,  that  when  it  was  heated,  it  was  like  an  oven  ready  to  bake 
meat.  To  prevent  the  baking,  we  had  branches  of  trees  spread  over 
the  top,  to  keep  off  the  sun's  rays.  We  patched  up  the  back  wall,  as 
the  half  had  been  torn  down  by  the  vandals  for  kindling-wood.  I  at 
once  took  deep  interest  in  the  unkempt,  unwashed  ragamuffins,  who 
were  as  wild  as  the  native  kangaroo,  and  as  shy. 

I  was  at  my  post  a  week  or  so,  when  two  young  men  called  on 
me  at  my  lodging  place,  the  most  disreputable  looking  specimens  ^f 
young  manhood  imaginable.  They  were  very  dirty  to  begin  with. 
One  had  hard,  frizzy,  red  hair,  standing  out  from  his  head,  his  face 
spotted  with  huge  brown  freckles,  and  so  dirty,  the  color  was  undis- 
tinguishable.  His  clothes  were  filthy  and  ragged.  The  other,  dark- 
haired  and  down-looking,  in  his  shirt  sleeves  and  dirty.  These  roughs 
sat  with  their  caps  on,  while  they  asked  me  to  open  a  night  school 
for  them  in  a  very  insolent,  assured  tone. 

"A  school!"  I  exclaimed  in  surprise;  "what  do  you  want  with  a 
school?" 

"We  want  to  go  to  it,"  said  they,  leering  at  each  other. 

I  told  them  I  could  not  open  a  night  school  for  them,  and  when 
asked  my  reason  for  refusing,  I  told  them  I  was  afraid  of  them,  they 
looked  so  fierce,  and  everything  but  respectable,  and  that  I  had  heard 
of  their  being  bad  characters. 

"Oh,  that's  it,  is  it?  Well,  you  had  better  open  a  school  for  us;  we 
will  behave  ourselves." 

I  hardly  knew  whether  to  take  this  as  a  prayer  or  a  threat.  I  told 
them  I  feared  to  open  a  school,  lest  I  should  have  to  close  it  in  a  short 
time.  I  was  told  that  a  female  of  doubtful  reputation  had  opened  a 
night  school  for  the  young  people  of  the  surrounding  neighborhoods, 
and  it  was  nothing  more  than  a  rendezvous  for  them  to  play  ])ranks. 
At  this  they  burst  out  in  a  great  hoarse  laugh. 

"Well,  try  us;  ye  may  as  well  gie  us  a  trial." 

Their  persistence  made  me  pause.  Perhaps  God  would  make  me, 
weak  as  I  was.  an  instrument  in  his  hand  of  doing  good  to  these  row- 
dies. I  asked  them,  were  I  to  open  a  school  for  them,  would  they 
be  willing  to  be  entirely  guided  by  me  while  in  it? 

"Oh,  yes,"  they  said. 

I  still  hesitated.  I  put  up  a  mental  j)rayer  for  resolution  to  decide. 
I  told  them  I  heard  they  were  drinkers. 


438  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

'''Now  will  you  pledge  yourselves  to  refrain  from  drink  that  will  do 
you  harm?"  I  asked. 

"O  yes,"  they  answered. 

Then  I  shall  open  a  night-school,  and  every  one  who  wishes  to  en- 
roll his  name  on  my  school-book  must  first  sign  a  teetotal  pledge. 

"Agreed,"  said  they. 

Twelve  of  the  dirtiest,  rowdiest-looking  young  persons,  male  and 
female,  signed  the  pledge,  and  took  their  seats  in  school.  To  me  it 
was  a  novel  sight,  this  dirty,  waiting  group,  but  it  was  also  a  novelty 
to  them,  to  see  a  clean,  neatly-dressed  woman  in  their  midst.  But 
tliis  novelty  would  wear  off,  and  I  asked  God  to  direct  me  how  to 
interest  and  gain  the  confidence  of  these  repulsive  young  people,  as 
well  as  to  instruct  them.  I  told  them  frankly  this  first  night,  that  I 
could  not  combat  with  twelve  persons  if  they  chose  to  be  contrary,  or 
inclined  to  extinguish  the  lights  and  throw  the  ink-bottles  about,  or 
chase  each  other  round  the  room  in  the  dark,  upsetting  forms  and 
desks,  as  they  had  done  formerly ;  but  I  could  and  would  most  cer- 
tainly close  the  school-doors  on  them,  and  never  open  to  them  again. 
They  all  seemed  too  ready  to  do  as  I  told  them.  I  had  not  much  faith 
in  their  promises.  I  requested  them  to  come  the  next  night  with  clean 
faces  and  hands,  and  commence  their  work  of  improvement.  I  was 
just  closing  my  eyes  to  sleep  that  night,  when  I  heard  the  most  horrid 
yells  ringing  through  the  bush.  I  did  not  know  whether  they  pro- 
ceeded from  drunken  men  or  savages.  I  was  not  able  to  sleep  for  a 
long  time.  Next  morning  I  was  informed  that  my  night  scholars  were 
up  to  their  old  tricks,  yelling  through  the  woods  and  pulling  gates  off 
their  hinges.  Wagon  wheels  were  broken,  and  property  destroyed  as 
usual.  The  second  night  my  scholars  looked  all  the  better  for  a  plen- 
tiful use  of  soap  and  water.  Before  dismissing  them  for  the  night,  I 
asked  them  if  they  knew  anything  of  the  rowdies  who  were  prowling 
through  the  bush  last  night.  I  said  they  had  frightened  me,  so  that  I 
could  not  sleep,  and  if  such  men  were  allowed  to  prowl  around,  that 
I  would  be  afraid  to  come  and  go  to  school  alone.  I  must  look  to 
them  for  protection. 

"Here  are  four  grown  young  men;  will  you  come  for  me  and  take 
me  home  every  evening;  will  you  be  my  body-guard?" 

"We  will,"  was  given  in  hearty  response. 

The  night  prowling  and  destroying  of  property  were  broken  up  en- 
tirely from  that  night. 

For  two  weeks,  teacher  and  taught  seemed  to  watch  each  other  very 


RETURN  TO  N,   S.   WALES,  AND  TEACHING  IN  THE  BUSH.  439 

closely.  I  was  on  the  alert  for  improprieties.  I  neither  took,  nor 
allowed  to  be  taken,  the  least  liberty.  Outwardly,  all  was  cahii  and 
quiet.  This  state  of  things  was  unusual  for  them,  and  I  feared  an 
outbreak.  Two  weeks  of  quiet,  respectful  behavior  on  their  part,  two 
weeks  of  painful  watching  on  mine,  passed,  and  I  relaxed  somewhat. 
One  night  I  said  to  tliem,  as  I  knew  they  had  good  voices,  I  should 
like  to  hear  them  sing,  and  would  they  sing  a  few  songs  ere  they  left? 
Each  looked  at  the  other,  and  asked : 

"What  shall  itbeF' 

They  had  formerly  been  in  the  habit  of  singing  profane  songs.  I 
was  amused  to  see  the-blank  look  they  gave  me  when  I  took  some  cot- 
tage hymn-books  from  a  shelf,  and  said : 

"There  are  some  very  pretty  songs  if  you  will  sing  them  for  me." 

They  sang  several  songs  well,  and  seemed  to  enjoy  the  exercise. 
I  told  them  they  might  sing  a  few  every  night.  This  pleased  them. 
Another  week  passed,  and  I  was  fast  gaining  their  confidence.  I  tried 
in  every  way  to  influence  them  for  good,  and  they  felt  that  I  had  an 
interest  in  their  well-being.  I  told  them  I  would  give  them  a  half 
hour  extra  every  evening  if  they  would  read  a  lesson  in  the  Testa- 
ment; it  would  improve  their  reading  and  do  more;  and  they  could 
sing,  and  in  that  way  spend  a  pleasant  half  hour.  To  this  they  agreed 
willingly.     They  seemed  to  like  school. 

My  body-guard,  all  four  of  them,  conducted  me  to  and  from  the 
school-house  to  my  lodging  every  night.  I  was  told  that  these  young 
men  bore  very  bad  characters.  I  said  I  believed  they  had  been,  but 
while  they  were  conducting  my  feet  through  the  unknown  mazes  of 
the  forest,  I  was  trying  to  conduct  them  into  the  path  that  led  to  the 
feet  of  their  Savior.  We  trusted  each  other  for  guidance,  and  none 
were  led  astray. 

Five  weeks  passed;  my  day-school  had  increased;  the  children 
seemed  to  like  school,  and  I  had  become  deeply  interested  in  both 
night  and  day  scholars.  I  went  home  one  afternoon  very  tired  with 
my  day's  labor.  Mine  host,  who  was  a  sly  rogue  and  a  cunning 
knave  of  a  very  bad  type,  who  had  seven  children  at  day  and  night 
school,  ordered  me  out  of  his  house,  bag  and  baggage.  He  said  he 
was  not  going  to  lodge  a  resident  governess  in  his  house,  to  have  so 
much  reform,  as  it  was  called,  going  on.  He  could  not  get  his  children 
to  pick  up  things  as  they  used  to  do,  without  their  .saying, 

"Father,  that  is  stealing." 

He  only  wanted  them  to  ]earn   to  read  and  write,  that  he   might 


440  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

make  clever  rogues  of  them.  I  was  quite  taken  aback  by  the  sud- 
denness and  violence  of  this  bad  man's  attack  on  me.  I  was  just  then 
and  there  turned  out  of  doors,  and  did  not  know  where  to  go. 

I  sent  a  messenger  to  all  the  men  in  the  village  who  had  children  at 
school,  to  come  to  the  school-room  at  once ;  I  had  something  to  say 
to  them.  They  came  from  their  pig-stys,  their  stables,  their  potato- 
picking  and  log-burning,  all  begrimed  with  dirt  and  redolent  with 
various  perfumes,  and  I  stood  among  them  trying  not  to  inhale  the 
odor.  My  body-guard  was  there  in  contrast,  with  their  clean  faces 
and  combed  hair.     What  does  the  mistress  want,  asked  a  man. 

"Friends,  I  had  intended  to  stay  in  this  bush-place  three  months; 
but  I  have  been  turned  out  of  Smith's  house  at  the  end  of  five  weeks, 
without  a  moment's  warning.  I  did  wish  to  show  you  what  I  could 
do  for  your  children  in  that  time,  but  if  I  have  to  leave  you  and  go  to 
Sydney  to-night,  I  shall  never  come  back  to  this  place  again,"  I  said. 

"What  do  you  want?"  said  one  of  the  uncouth  men. 

"You  have  pigs  most  of  you." 

"Do  you  want  a  pig?"   cried  one. 

"Let  the  mistress  speak,"  cried  another. 

"No,"  I  said,  "I  do  not  want  your  pigs,  but  you  give  them  a  little 
clean  straw  now  and  then  to  lie  on,  and  a  shelter  to  cover  them  from 
the  storm.  Now,  all  I  want  is  shelter  and  a  little  clean  straw  to  lie  on 
till  the  three  months  are  expired.  I  wish  to  show  you  that  I  am  your 
friend." 

Not  one  of  them  could  give  me  a  decent  lodging-place.  One  poor 
sot,  touched  with  my  modest  requirements,  said  he  would  sleep  in  the 
stable  if  I  would  sleep  with  his  wife.  Another  said  he  was  going  to 
build  a  room  for  his  daughter;  when  it  was  finished,  I  could  sleep 
with  her  till  the  three  months  were  up.  In  the  first  house,  I  had  shel- 
ter, but  lacked  the  clean  straw;  in  the  second,  I  had  abed  in  a  box 
six  feet  square,  with  a  narrow  door  and  four  panes  of  glass  for  a  win- 
dow. One  night,  near  the  close  of  the  three  months'  sojourn  in  this 
god-forsaken  place,  I  asked  myself  what  I  had  done  for  the  people, 
children  and  young  folks  since  I  had  lived  in  their  midst.  Well,  I  had 
organized  a  day-school,  where  the  children  had  wonderfully  improved 
for  the  time.  I  had  a  night-school,  where  the  Bible  was  read  and  ex- 
pounded every  night;  we  had  a  prayer-meeting  every  Friday  evening, 
and  one  every  Lord's  day  morning  at  six  o'clock,  and  we  had  a  Sun- 
■day-school,  where  cricket  and  other  games  were  discontinued  on  Sun- 
day, to  enable  the  young  men  to  take  classes  in  the  Sunday-school. 


RETURN  TO  N.   S.   WALES,   AND  TEACHING  IN  THE  BUSH,  44 1 

The  Juvenile  Bush  Missionaries  came  out  and  preached  in  my  school- 
room. Mending  fences  and  digging  in  the  gardens  were  not  so  preva- 
lent on  Sunday  as  formerly.  The  young  women  were  paying  more 
attention  to  their  personal  appearance ;  they  were  clean  and  well-be- 
haved. This  was  all  well,  but  was  it  enough?  I  felt  that  it  was  not. 
For  if  I  went  back  to  Sydney,  my  work  would  go  for  nothing.  They 
all,  both  young  and  old,  would  lapse  into  their  former  habits.  I  had 
been  told,  and  I  now  well  knew,  that  no  one  would  take  up  this  work. 
The  principles  of  the  young  people  were  not  established,  though  all 
were  very  much  improved.  What  was  to  be  done  I  could  not  tell.  I 
asked  the  Lord  to  tell  me.  A  work  had  been  begun,  but  it  was  not 
on  a  sure  foundation.  My  body-guard,  in  fact  all  of  my  night  schol- 
ars, seemed  grateful  for  the  interest  I  had  taken  in  them,  and  were 
trying  to  show  it  by  taking  an  interest  in  themselves.  I  was  not  willing 
to  leave  them,  but  I  had  no  bodily  comforts,  and  shortly  I  would  have 
no  place  to  stay.  Having  no  personal  ends  to  subserve,  I  sought  di- 
vine guidance,  and  it  came  into  my  mind  that  a  school-house  and  a 
residence  for  the  teacher  should  be  built. 

The  next  morning  I  rose  early  and  sent  for  two  of  my  bodyguard 
to  take  me  to  the  house  of  an  old  gentleman  who  owned  all  the 
forest  land  round  about.  I  intended  to  ask  him  to  give  me  two  acres 
of  forest  land  on  which  to  build  a  school-house  and  a  teacher's  resi- 
dence. I  was  strongly  advised  not  to  go  to  Mr.  Lithgow,  for  his 
Roman  Catholic  agent,  who  had  full  control  of  the  old  gentleman  and 
of  all  he  had,  would  not  sanction  such  a  gift.  I  told  them  to  take  me 
to  Mr.  Lithgow's,  as  I  did  not  know  the  way,  and  leave  the  rest  to 
me.  I  prayed  to  God  to  open  the  heart  of  the  old  man,  and  to  give 
me  favor  in  his  sight,  and  if  the  work  was  for  the  glory  of  God,  to 
give  me  success.  After  walking  seven  miles  we  reached  the  house 
before  breakfast.  I  was  shown  into  a  room,  and  I  sent  my  card  to  the 
master  of  the  mansion.  Presently  the  agent,  who  acted  as  house 
steward  and  valet  to  the  old  man,  came  to  me  and  asked  me  what 
I  wanted.  I  said  I  wanted  to  see  Mr.  Lithgow.  Then  he  asked  me 
my  business  with  him. 

"When  I  see  Mr.  Lithgow  I  shall  tell  him  my  business,"  I  said. 

He  made  every  objection  to  my  seeing  the  old  gentleman.  I  told 
this  disagreeable  man  that,  as  I  had  sent  a  card  to  Mr.  Lithgow,  I 
should  hear  from  him  whether  he  could  see  me.  A  servant  came  to 
conduct  me  to  Mr.  Lithgow,  who  rercivcd  me  very  courteously,  and 
asked  if  I  had  breakfasted.    I  had  not,  and  Frank,  the  agent,  was  told 


442  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

to  order  breakfast  for  me,  and  we  should  attend  to  business  after. 
Frank  was  very  much  put  out  at  the  very  unusual  proceedings.  While 
my  young  men  were  having  breakfast  in  the  kitchen,  I  was  pleading 
their  cause  with  Mr.  Lithgow.  I  laid  my  crude  plans  before  him,  and 
asked  for  two  acres  of  land  to  build  on.  He  said  he  was  astonished  to 
hear  a  lady  of  my  appearance  plead  for  such  people ;  I  surely  did  not 
know  what  they  were,  what  vile  characters  they  had,  or  I  would  have 
nothing  to  do  with  them. 

"They  are  thieves,  for  they  cut  down  my  timber  and  sell  it,  and  they 
are  drunkards  and  liars.  Oh,  you  would  not  be  safe  among  such  vi- 
cious people." 

I  told  him  I  had  been  living  among  them  for  three  months,  and  I 
knew  something  about  them.  He  asked  if  I  was  not  afraid.  He  gave 
me  other  reasons  for  not  going  to  live  in  such  a  dangerous  place.  I 
told  him  that  the  reasons  he  gave  me  for  not  going  to  live  at  that  place 
were  the  strongest  arguments  in  favor  of  my  doing  so.  I  wished  to 
rescue  the  children  and  young  people  from  vice,  and  the  evil  example 
of  the  older  ones  was  dragging  them  to  destruction.  I  said,  a  school 
built  on  his  land  would  enhance  its  value,  and  it  was  very  necessary 
to  have  a  residence  for  a  teacher,  for  no  person  of  respectability  could 
live  there  without  having  a  place  to  live  in.  I  said,  moreover  a  school 
in  that  part  of  the  country  was  very  important.  It  might  be  the  nursery 
of  some  gigantic  intellect,  some  great  and  good  characters,  who  might 
wield  an  influence  for  good  through  all  time,  bounded  only  by  eter- 
nity. But  let  the  untamed  and  boisterous  tempers,  the  stout  nerves 
and  stubborn  hearts  grow  up  uncultivated,  morally  and  intellectually; 
we  then  have  the  deadly  upas  tree  spreading  desolation  over  the  land. 
The  stout  arm,  instead  of  holding  the  olive  branch  of  peace  and  good 
will  to  men,  would  wield  the  rifle  or  revolver;  the  rich,  deep  voice, 
instead  of  speaking  peace  to  the  troubled  heart,  might  demand  in 
hoarsest  tones,  your  money,  or  your  life. 

We  have  daily  proofs  of  such  examples.  Every  boy  that  I  may 
teach  in  the  school  may  not  be  a  law-maker;  but  if  the  seeds  of  truth 
and  honesty  are  sown  in  their  hearts,  they  surely  will  not  be  law- 
breakers. The  country  supplies  prisoners  and  paupers  for  the  city 
prisons  and  poor-houses,  and  as  prevention  is  better  than  cure,  give  me 
two  acres  of  land  on  which  to  build  a  school-house,  and  prison  and 
pcTor-house  will  not  be  needed. 

"Yes,  said  the  old  man;  "you  shall  have  ten  acres  instead  of  two,  if 
you  wish." 


RETURN  TO  X.   S.  WALES,   AND  TEACHING  IN  THE  BUSH.  443 

"Two  is  all  sufficient  for  the  purpose." 

Frank  was  ordered  to  bring  charts  and  maps  of  the  place,  to  allow 
me  to  choose  a  site  for  my  school.  There  were  three  spots  which  I 
thought  would  be  suitable.  Frank  said  these  were  too  valuable,  as 
they  were  central,  and  likely  to  sell  at  a  high  price.  He  pointed  out 
land  far  beyond  where  the  children  could  reach.  I  told  him  only  one 
of  the  spots  I  had  selected  would  suit  for  a  school.     jNIr.  L said : 

"You  shall  have  the  land.  You  know  the  wants  of  these  people 
better  than  they  do  themselves,  and  you  have  pleaded  their  cause  bet- 
ter than  any  one  I  ever  heard." 

Frank's  looks  plainly  showed  me  that  he  would,  if  he  could,  coun- 
teract my  morning's  work. 

The  old  man  asked  me  who  was  my  lawyer,  to  write  out  the  convey- 
ance? who  was  my  surveyor,  to  mark  out  and  survey  the  land?  I  told 
him  I  had  none;  for  when  I  left  North  Sydney  that  morning,  I  was 
told  my  errand  would  be  fruitless,  that  I  should  not  get  the  land,  but 
that  I  had  prayed  God  to  give  me  success,  if  I  was  doing  his  work. 
He  then  asked  who  would  pay  for  the  drawing  up  of  the  deeds  and  the 
surveyor's  work.     I  said  I  did  not  know.     He  smiled,  and  said: 

"I  suppose  you  will  have  to  ask  God." 

I  bowed,  and  said,  "Yes." 

He'directed  me  to  two  gentlemen,  who  would  do  the  work  on  rea- 
sonable terms,  but  said  "I  must  take  all  the  responsibility  of  paying 
them  on  myself,  and  building,  and  appointing  trustees."  He  wished 
me  to  be  a  trustee,  but  I  refused.  I  said  I  gave  the  people  my  work, 
and  I  wished  to  have  no  claim  on  the  property. 

"Well,  I  wish  you  every  success." 

Frank  was  ordered  to  get  the  carriage,  and  take  me  as  near  to  my 
home  as  he  could.  With  a  scowl  he  said  a  spring  of  the  carriage  was 
broken,  and  there  was  no  road  to  North  Sydney.  I  told  Mr.  Lithgow 
I  could  dispense  with  the  carriage,  as  I  was  not  going  to  North  .Sydney 
then.   I  tendered  my  thanks  to  the  good  old  man, and  bade  him  good-bye. 

To  prevent  Frank  from  doing  an  evil  deed.  I  told  my  young  men  to 
take  me  to  the  lawyer's  and  surveyor's,  tho^^h  I  had  to  walk  many 
miles.     Frank  had  sworn,  in  the  hearing  of  my  young  men,  that, 

"That  woman  should  not  outwit  him;  she  should  not  have  her  way; 
the  land  should  not  be  conveyed  to  her  or  anyone  else  for  a  school." 

The  sleepless  night,  the  excitement  of  the  day,  and  my  eighteen 
miles  walk  in  the  broiling  sun,  made  me  very  sick;  but  I  rested  on 
Sunday,  and  on  Monday  helped  the  surveyor  to  mark  out  and  survey 


444  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

the  land,  and  paid  him  out  of  my  own  purse.  A  well  had  to  be  dug, 
and  1  shoveled  up  the  first  earth  from  it.  I  begged  for  money,  to  pay 
for  the  deeds  being  written,  and  kept  teaching  both  day  and  night. 

Two  weeks  from  the  time  Frank  had  sworn  that  "that  woman 
should  not  have  her  way,"  I  called  a  meeting  of  the  men  of  the  place, 
and  told  them  that  three  of  them  I  had  made  trustees,  and  gave  them 
the  deeds,  teUing  them  everything  was  secured  and  paid  for,  and  all 
they  had  now  to  do  was  to  build.    They  returned  the  parchment,  saying, 

"You  have  got  the  land,  you  can  build  yourself;  we  can't." 

My  three  months  were  expired;  they  had  seen  what  I  had  done  for 
them,  now  what  were  they  going  to  do  for  themselves?  They  very 
coolly  said, 

"Nothing." 

I  told  them  that  their  indifference  to  what  I  had  already  done,  gave 
me  but  little  encouragement  to  farther  help  them.  I  said  they  might 
hinder  me  in  my  attempts.  I  had  better  leave  the  place.  At  prayer- 
meeting  that  night,  all  my  night  scholars  begged  me  not  to  leave  them. 
I  was  their  little  ship,  that  was  carrying  them  safely  over  the  breakers 
to  a  place  of  safety.  They  said  they  would  protect  me  from  bad  treat- 
ment from  the  older  folks  of  the  community,  only  not  to  leave  them. 
Here  was  a  wide  field  to  work  in,  a  great  work  to  be  done,  and  I  asked 
myself  if  I  were  able  to  carry  it  on  alone  in  the  face  of  opposition. 

Mr.  Campbell's  advice  like  an  inspiration  came  to  my  assistance: 
"Attempt  great  things,  expect  great  things,  and  great  things  will  follow." 

Frank  put  money  in  his  pocket,  and  winked  at  his  master's  timber 
being  stolen.  He  thought  his  gains  would  soon  be  at  an  end,  and  he, 
through  some  of  the  most  lawless  of  these  folks,  gave  me  much  trouble. 
But  I  had  to  contend  with  higher  and  more  respectable  powers.  All 
the  forest  land,  and  the  scattered  village  for  a  long  distance  round,  be- 
longed to  the  Parish  of  St.  Thomas,  and  the  Rev.  Rector  and  his  cu- 
rate, both  highly  educated  and  cultivated  gentlemen,  were  arrayed 
against  me.  What  business  had  I  to  get  land  on  which  to  build  a 
school-house?     Frank  had  told  them  sorrowing,  that  I  was  taking  all 

from  them  by  my  subtile^ways.     They  went  to  Mr.  L ,  and  told 

him  that  he  ought  to  have  given  the  land  to  the  church ;  to  take  it  back 
from  me,  and  give  it  to  them. 

"No,"  said  Mr.  L ;  "the  land  was  freely  given  to  the  only  per- 
son who  had  shown  a  desire  to  do  good  to  a  most  unworthy  people. 
You  ministers  ought  to  have  looked  after  these  rogues  in  your  parish, 


RETURN  TO  N.   S.  WALES,   AND  TEACHING  IN  THE  BUSH.  445 

but  you  have  never  done  it.  You  only  want  my  land  for  your  church, 
and  I  shall  not  give  it  to  you." 

And  in  consequence  of  this  refusal,  I  had  great  and  active  opposition 
from  the  good  but  short-sighted  gentlemen ;  but  they  could  not  stop 
the  work,  they  only  made  it  very  hard.  Finally  they  became  warm 
personal  friends  of  mine. 

I  called  on  the  Rev.  Dean,  of  Sydney,  to  ask  why  it  Avas  necessary 
to  persecute  me  for  trying  to  do  good  ?  I  told  him  what  I  had  done 
in  a  place  which  had  neither  teacher,  preacher  nor  Christian  friend  to 

help  them  in  any  way,  though  in  Rev.  Mr.  C 's  parish.     He  had 

never  taken  the  least  interest  in  the  people's  spiritual  welfare.  Now 
I,  single-handed  and  alone,  am  trying  to  rescue  the  children  and  young 
people  from  the  vortex  of  vice  that  would  surely  engulf  them  if  no 
hand  were  stretched  out  to  save  them.  I  said  my  hand  was  feeble  and 
needed  to  be  strengthened,  not  weakened.  I  was  willing  to  do  what 
the  ministers  had  left  undone,  but  I  wished  to  be  allowed  to  do  so  in 
peace.     The  Dean  said: 

"As  the  Rev.  Mr.  C was  rector  of  the  parish  in  which  North 

Sydney  was,  he  had  the  right  to  recommend  who  should  work  there." 

I  said,  had  anyone  begun  a  good  work  amongst  the  people  I  should 
never  have  taken  it  out  of  their  hands;  but  as  the  people's  souls  were 
perishing  I  ran  to  the  rescue,  and  no  other  made  the  attempt. 

The  Rev.  Dean  found  me  incorrigible,  then  he  said,  if  I  would 
teach  according  to  their  order,  the  church  would  give  me  a  handsome 
salary.  I  told  him  I  could  not  teach  their  creed  or  catechism,  as  I  did 
not  believe  in  them. 

"What,"  said  the  Dean,  "do  you  not  believe  the  Bible?" 

"O  yes,"  I  said,  "but  not  creeds  or  catechisms;  and  no  money 
could  induce  me  to  teach  what  I  do  not  believe." 

The  Rev.  Dean,  with  great  dignity  of  manner,  said: 

"With  the  knowledge  of  the  character  of  those  people,  arc  you 
willing  to  go  and  live  amongst  them  without  patronage  and  without 
pay?     You  can  not  live  on  mosquitoes." 

"I  am  willing  to  go  with  *he  Bible  in  my  hand  and  the  strength  of 
God  in  my  heart  and  trust  to  him  for  bread,"  I  answered. 

"That  is  right,  go  into  all  the  world  and  teach,"  said  the  Rev.  Dean. 

"Be  ye  clothed  and  fed,"  I  said,  and  took  my  leave. 

A  party  had  been  given  to  me  at  the  elegant  home  of  the  cx-Amcr- 
ican  Consul,  whose  wife  was  a  very  elegant  lady.  She  said  that  I 
would  lose  caste  if  I  went  away  to  the  bush  to  work. 

"Why  work  at  all?" 


446  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

I  said  that  I  had  promised  the  Lord  to  work  for  him,  and  though 
the  work  was  not  congenial  it  was  interesting,  and  some  one  ought  to 
do  it. 

"Let  others  do  it  thenj  I  shall  not  like  you  half  so  well  if  you  go 
there.  You  will  lose  all  your  refined  manners ;  you  will  become  rus- 
tic," she  said. 

"I  shall  go,"  I  said,  "and  if  my  manners  do  not  suit  your  drawing- 
room  company,  I  shall  not  give  you  pain  by  appearing  in  it.  My 
Master's  work  has  to  be  done." 

I  never  went  to  any  more  of  her  parties,  though  I  often  dined  with 
her  family  after  that. 

Health  of  body  had  been  restored  to  me,  and  vigor  of  mind,  for 
which  I  thanked  my  heavenly  Father.  At  the  same  time,  the  remem- 
brance of  past  suffering  constituted  a  great  part  of  my  present  mental 
suffering,  and  will  remain  with  me  I  doubt  not  all  through  life.  I 
shall,  however,  draw  a  veil  thick  and  deep  over  all.  At  that  time  my 
pathway  was  dreary  and  lonely  and  trying.  Yet  my  faith  was  stronger 
and  my  hope  brighter.  The  Son  of  God  suffered,  and  he  said,  '  'Who- 
soever doth  not  take  up  his  cross  and  come  after  me  can  not  be  my 
disciple."     Suffering  and  self-denial  are  the  terms  of  discipleship. 

I  apprehended  a  good  deal  of  trouble  through  Frank,  the  bad 
man,  and  the  good  ministers,  prejudicing  the  people  for  whom  I 
was  working.  I  had  run  a  great  risk  in  going  out  to  live  amongst 
such  people,  and  why  not  risk  more  ?  The  children  of  Israel  feared 
the  tall  Anakims;  but  the  Lord  said  to  them,  "Dread  not,  neither  be 
afraid  of  them.  The  Lord  your  God  will  go  before  you;  he  shall 
fight  for  you."     I  believed  and  appropriated  this  promise  to  myself. 

I  called  another  meeting  of  the  men  to  consult  and  conciliate  them. 
I  told  them  I  was  willing  to  do  everything  for  them  that  I  could,  but 
they  must  try  and  help  me,  or  at  least  not  hinder  me  in  my  work.  I 
found  the  party  divided,  one  for  the  other,  against  me.  Smith,  a 
friend  of  Frank's,  and  the  man  who  had  turned  me  out  of  his  house, 
said: 

"Who  authorized  you  to  ask  Mr.  L for  land,  or  to  have  it  sur- 
veyed, or  to  appoint  trustees,  or  to  have  deeds  drawn  up  and  paid  for, 
that  a  school-house  should  be  built?     Eh?" 

The  query,  I  said,  reminded  me  of  a  little  girl  who  was  standing  by 
a  brook  watching  a  fish  that  was  weather-bound,  struggling  for  dear 
life  and  breath  on  some  dry  stones  in  the  middle  of  the  stream,  with 
about  a  half  a  teaspoonful  of  water  creeping  lazily  from  its  head  down 


RETURN  TO  N.  S.   WALES,  AND  TEACHING  IN  THE  BUSH.  447 

its  back,  but  not  enough  to  give  the  prisoner  hope  of  freedom.  She 
saw  and  pitied  the  poor  fish,  and  her  sympathy  made  her  forget  that 
she  had  a  clean,  white  apron  on,  and  bright,  shiny  shoes.  She  forgot 
everything  but  her  desire  to  hberate  the  poor  fish  from  bondage.  In 
she  went,  unauthorized,  and  picked  her  way  as  best  she  could  till  she 
laid  hold  of  the  gentleman  in  limbo,  and  tucked  him,  wet  face  and  all, 
into  her  white  apron.  But  oh,  how  he  frightened  her  with  his  floun- 
dering; he  was  so  troublesome.  She  felt  strongly  inclined  to  throw 
him  from  her.  "She  thought  his  gratitude  was  very  much  like  that  of 
human  beings  when  you  do  them  unasked  service."  When  she  suc- 
ceeded in  dropping  her  prize  into  deep  water — oh,  how  grateful  he 
will  be  now.  She  loved  that  fish  because  she  had  done  him  good 
service,  and  she  thought  he  would  love  her  and  be  grateful  in  return ; 
but  he  left  her  without  thanks  for  the  trouble  she  had  taken  to  save 
him.  That  fish  is  not  singular  in  his  ingratitude,  but  who  will  say 
that  the  fish  did  not  need  help,  for  the  want  of  which  he  must  have 
perished. 

As  I  have  already  mentioned,  we  had  a  prayer-meeting  on  Friday 
evenings,  that  is,  my  night  scholars  read  the  Bible  and  sang  and 
prayed.  Oh,  what  a  thrill  of  pleasure  passed  through  my  frame  when 
one  of  my  young  men  knelt  down  and  prayed  for  the  first  time,  thank- 
ing God  for  sending  them  their  kind  teacher  who  had  taken  such  an 
interest  in  them,  both  spiritually  and  temporally.  This  was  a  simple, 
earnest  prayer  from  the  heart.  This  was  he  whom  I  first  feared,  then 
trusted  most.  A  great  change  had  come  over  all  of  those  young  men 
whom  I  had  called  my  body-guard.  They  had  brought  their  parents 
to  our  Sunday  morning  prayer-meeting.  One  of  the  poor  women 
came  to  me,  with  tears  in  her  eyes,  and  took  my  hand  in  both  of  hers, 
and  said : 

"O  Mrs.  Davies,  God  will  surely  bless  you  for  what  you  have  done. 
In  all  the  twenty-five  years  of  my  married  life  my  husband  never 
knelt  down  to  pray  till  last  night,  and  you  have  brought  about  all  this 
change." 

The  husband  came  to  me,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  and  said : 

"I  hope  the  Lord  will  forgive  me  my  great  sin  in  making  my  eldest 
son  an  infidel;  I  have  been  one  myself.  lUit  I  hope  (\(A  will  have 
mercy  upon  my  soul." 

I  directed  him  to  Christ. 

On  this  Friday  night  I  had  all  my  dear  young  people  around  mc, 
and  I  placed  before  them  the  difficulties  that  were  in  the  way  of  build- 


448  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

ing,  and  my  plans  for  removing  them.  I  told  them  that  true,  heartfelt, 
fervent  prayer  was  a  great  and  powerful  moral  lever,  that  would  re- 
move mountains  of  difficulty.  We  all  knelt  down  and  prayed  that 
God  would  grant  us  success  in  our  undertaking.  I  then  gave  each  of 
them  a  collecting  card,  with  my  signature,  authorizing  them  to  collect 
as  much  money  as  they  could  toward  building,  and  so  sent  them  on 
their  mission  of  begging. 

On  the  north  side  of  Port  Jackson  a  number  of  rich  city  merchants 
had  elegant  residences.  I  called  on  a  gentleman  who  had  very  large 
possessions,  which  extended  very  near  to  North  Sydney,  but  he  said 
he  did  not  even  know  the  name  of  the  place  nor  where  it  was.  Well, 
to  be  sure  it  was  an  out-of-the-way  place.  This  millionaire  gave  me 
j£i  sterling,  or  $5.00,  to  begin  with.  Another  gentleman  who  knew 
nothing  about  the  place  took  my  address,  and  said  he  would  come  and 
see  me  and  what  I  was  doing.  He  came,  he  saw,  and  helped  with  a 
liberal  hand.  He  was  a  philanthropist  of  noble  mold.  Some  com- 
mon minds  can  not  see  beyond  their  eyes  and  ears;  their  relentless 
purse  strings  can  not  relax.  School-houses  and  training  minds  immor- 
tal are  nothing  to  them.  But  minds  of  noble  stamp,  who  see  the 
image  of  God  still  lingering  in  fallen  humanity,  expand  heart  and 
purse,  and  both  are  opened  to  help  the  needy.     I  called  upon  several 

others  who  gave  a  little  money.     The  Rev.  Mr.  C ,  who  was  op-" 

posed  to  my  working  in  his  parish,  though  he  never  did  anything  for 
the  people  himself,  thought  it  strange  that  I  should  call  on  him  to  help 
to  build,  when  he  was  opposed  to  my  doing  it. 

"Were  I  to  give  you  money  to  help  to  build  a  school-house,  people 
seeing  my  name  might  give,  thinking  it  was  an  Episcopal  school-house 
you  are  building,"  he  said. 

"I  shall  take  care  to  enlighten  the  people  as  to  what  kind  it  is  to  be; 
but  if  he  had  a  doubt  on  the  subject,  he  could  write  on  the  back  of 
the  card  with  his  own  hand  that  it  was  not  an  Episcopal  school-house." 

This  he  did,  ignoring  my  work  as  not  being  an  appendage  to  his 
church. 

"As  you  are  a  lady  I  shall  give  ^1  {$5.00),  but  I  do  not  approve 
of  your  work." 

Months  passed,  and  I  was  teaching  in  my  new  school-house,  when 

one  morning  the  Rev.  Mr.  C and  his  curate  walked  in.     I  was 

truly  glad  to  see  them.  I  thought  they  now  approved  of  my  work  and 
had  come  to  congratulate  me.  The  curate  asked  the  names  of  the 
children  and  then  went  out.     I  told  Mr.  C how  glad  I  was  to  see 


RETURN  TO  N.   S.   WALES,   AND  TEACHING  IN  THE  BUSH.  449 

him  make  this  first  visit,  and  hoped  he  would  come  and  see  me  again 
and  take  an  interest  in  my  work;  it  would  be  so  encouraging  were  he 
to  do  so.  The  old  gentleman  had  walked  six  miles  over  a  rough,  hilly 
road  to  reach  the  school,  and  I  very  kindly  appreciated  the  visit.  I 
was  rather  nonplused  when  the  rector  said  : 

"Oh,  Ave  did  not  think  you  were  at  home,  and  we  took  the  oppor- 
tunity to  come  and  see  the  place." 

"Oh,"  I  said,  somewhat  crestfallen  (I  did  not  disguise  my  feelings) ; 
"so  the  visit  was  not  to  me.  I  am  sorry  I  took  up  so  much  of  your  pre- 
cious time  telling  you  what  I  had  done  for  your  parishioners.  I  thought 
you  had  become  interested  at  last,  and  had  come  to  encourage  me  in 
the  good  work." 

"No;  that  did  not  bring  us  here." 

The  curate  returned,  and  they  left. 

But  to  return  to  our  prayer-meetings  and  begging  expeditions.  I 
worked  hard  fourteen  hours  every  day,  with  but  little  nourishing  food ; 
but  still  was  able  to  walk  from  eighteen  to  twenty  miles  on  Saturdays, 
and  when  I  had  collected  a  few  pounds  sterling,  I  set  men  to  work. 
Now  to  build  a  house  of  large  dimensions,  with  money,  or  a  prospect 
of  money,  to  pay  for  it  in  the  coffers,  with  all  the  materials  convenient, 
or  good  roads  to  carry  them  over,  and  workmen  at  hand,  would  be  an 
easy  matter;  but  having  to  walk  so  far  to  beg  for  money  first;  then 
walk  many  miles  to  find  a  brickmaker;  then  as  many  miles  in  another 
direction  to  find  a  lime  burner;  then  as  many  more  to  the  timber  mer- 
chant; then  the  difficulty  of  bringing  workmen  so  far  from  the  city;  and 
as  we  had  no  road,  matters  could  not  be  hastened,  and  so  the  work 
was  heavy  and  hard.  I  had  to  walk  under  a  broiling  sun  over  rocks 
and  through  briars  and  brush,  encountering  venomous  snakes  lying 
across  the  track,  and  as  I  could  not  find  my  way  through  the  forest, 
I  was  always  accompanied  by  two  of  my  body-guard  as  far  as  the  ferry, 
and  on  my  return  two  would  be  there  to  meet  me  to  take  me  home. 
They  thought  it  fine  sport  to  kill  the  snakes,  and  so  clear  my  path  of 
creatures,  the  sight  of  which  made  me  shudder. 

A  lettcf  to  a  friend,  that  I  wrote  at  this  time,  I  shall  transcribe. 

North  Sydney,  March,  iS6j. 
My  dear  brother :  Yours  of  last  month  came  duly  to  hand.  Vou  say  you  are 
anxious  to  hear  of  my  health  and  prospects,  and  how  the  good  work  undertaken 
by  me  is  progressing.  Well,  in  the  first  place,  I  have  no  time  to  think  of  my 
health— my  work  has  been  too  arduous  for  that.  My  prospects?  I  know  not 
what  a  day  may  bring  forth.  The  good  work?  It  goes  forward  as  fast  as  weary 
29 


450  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

feet  can  carry  it,  but  I  find  the  difficulties  so  great  I  sometimes  think  they  can 
not  be  surmounted ;  but  I  also  find  that  persevering  efi'ort  continued  accomplishes 
a  great  deal  in  time.  My  last  letter  told  you  that  I  had  ordered  material  to  build 
a  school-house  with  a  teacher's  residence  attached,  and  that  I  had  but  little  money 
in  hand  to  pay  for  it.  I  had  a  young  friend  who  was  an  architect.  According  lo 
my  instructions,  he  drew  out  a  plan  for  me.  I  employed  the  men  of  this  place 
to  haul  the  bricks  from  where  I  had  them  made.  Five  hundred  was  a  load,  and 
I  paid  them  so  much  a  load.  I  taled  the  bricks  while  they  were  unloading,  and 
invariably  found  fifty  or  sixty  bricks  lacking  in  every  load.  These  the  men  stole 
for  their  own  use.  This  thievish  propensity  I  dared  not  notice.  This  was  un- 
pleasant, as  I  felt  I  had  begged  for  public  money  that  was  being  put  to  private 
uses.  They  cheated  me  in  every  way  they  could.  I  was  now  ready  to  have  the 
foundation-stone  laid  of  the  first  house,  pro  bono  publico,  and  it  was  not  a  drink- 
ing house.  Some  one  had  proposed  to  set  up  a  drinking  shanty  in  opposition  to 
my  school.  As  Mr.  Sayers  had  been  our  most  liberal  donor,  I  asked  him  to 
lay  the  corner-stone.  The  day  appointed  arrived — the  most  important  day  North 
Sydney  had  ever  seen.  I  hoped  all  the  quarrels  of  this  most  quarrelsome  people 
would  be  buried  under  the  corner-stone  of  their  public  house. 

The  old  man,  who  had  been  an  infidel,  and  the  most  intelligent  man  in  the 
place,  wrote  out  a  short  address,  thanking  Mr.  Sayers  for  coming  up  among  them 
to  help  them.     It  ran  thus: 

''  Words  can  not  express  our  gratitude.  The  life-boat  to  the  shipwrecked  mar- 
iner could  not  be  hailed  with  a  deeper  sense  of  gratitude  than  is  your  kind  as- 
sistance at  this  critical  moment."  He  went  on  to  tell  of  the  vicious  habits  of  the 
people,  and  those  being  formed  by  the  young.  "  We  were  too  far  away  to  be 
noticed  by  the  kind-hearted  gentlemen  who  were  doing  so  much  for  our  class  in 
their  own  neighborhoods ;  but  now  we  feel  not  so  far  off  but  that  the  hand  of 
help  can  and  will  reach  us,  and  that  through  the  instrumentality  of  Mrs.  Davies. 
That  lady  came  to  this  place,  and,  seeing  the  condition  we  were  in,  soon  saw 
what  was  needed  and  what  ought  to  be  done.  She  made  no  more  to  do,  but  left 
her  city  comforts  and  came  to  live  among  us  in  the  bush,  vvent  to  work  in  right 
earnest,  and  bade  us  follow.  Too  much  can  not  be  said  in  her  praise.  Sparing 
herself  no  labor,  regarding  no  discouragement,  nor  even  bending  to  hardships 
which  few  beside  herself  would  endure.  She  secured  land  to  build  on  that  no 
other  one  could  get,  paid  for  surveying  it  from  her  own  pocket,  and  put  the  law- 
yer to  work,  and  we  have  the  deeds  in  our  possession.  This  done,  she  had  col- 
lecting cards  printed  at  her  own  expense,  and  set  all  her  scholars  to  work  to  get 
what  they  could  toward  the  building.  They  could  get  but  little,  but  so  ably  has 
Mrs.  Davies  advocated  our  cause,  she  has  attracted  the  attention  of  many  of  the 
gentry  in  our  behalf,  who  have  never  heard  of  such  a  place  as  North  Sydney. 
During  all  this  time  she  has  been  conducting  a  day  school  and  an  evening  class 
for  the  young  people  of  this  place  who  had  no  means  of  improvement.  This 
has,  with  the  blessing  of  God,  wrought  a  great  change.  On  Sunday  the  bat  and 
ball  has  been  laid  aside,  and  the  player's  thoughts  turned  to  intellectual  pur- 
suits. They  now  pray  to  God  to  assist  them  to  bring  about  a  better  state  of 
things;  and  we  are  greatly  encouraged  to  do  so  by  your  presence  among  us  to- 


RETURN  TO  N.   S.   WALES,   AXD  TEACHING  IN  THE  BUSH.  45  I 

dar,  to  lay  the  foundation-stone  of  a  building  which,  while  it  provides  us  with  a 
school-house,  will,  we  hope,  be  a  cradle  to  the  School  of  Arts,  and  to  hear  the 
truths  necessary  to  salvation.  "  Thos.  Hancock. 

''March  ^o,  /S6j." 

Madam;  Please  to  accept  a  copy  of  the  feeble  effort  at  an  address,  delivered 
on  the  occasion  of  laying  the  foundation-stone  of  our  school-house.  It  is  an 
humble  offering  of  our  grateful  thanks  and  respects  toward  you,  who  have  done 
so  much  for  us.  And  rest  assured,  madam,  that  the  children  running  about  in 
this  infant  township  will  pronounce  your  name  with  respect  and  bless  you,  and 
the  time  you  labored  for  them,  when  their  parents  are  silent  forever,  and  you 
have  gone  to  your  reward.  Your  most  respectful,  humble  servant. 

To  Mrs.  Davics,  North  Sydney.  '^"^'-  Hancock. 

On  the  twenty-fifth  of  July  I  issued  cards  of  invitation  to  the  open- 
ing, as  follows : 

It  is  intended  to  open  the  new  school-house  at  North  Sydney  on  the  30th  inst. 
The  friends,  parents  and  children  will  assemble  for  refreshment  and  amusement 
during  the  day,  and  will  hold  a  public  meeting  in  the  evening,  at  six  o'clock, 
when  several  gentlemen  are  expected  to  address  the  meeting.  Your  attendance 
is  respectfully  invited. 

The  following  account  of  it  was  published  in  the  Sydney  Mornitig 
Herald: 

BETHANY  NATIONAL  SCHOOL,  NORTH  SYDNEY. 

A  tea  meeting  was  held  at  this  place  on  Thursday  last,  for  the  purpose  of  open- 
ing the  new  school-house.  After  an  excellent  tea,  to  which  about  150  persons 
sat  down  in  a  rustic  arbor  erected  for  the  purpose,  a  public  meeting  was  held  in 
the  school-room,  which  was  beautifully  decorated  with  leaves,  ferns  and  flowers. 
Mr.  Sayers  was  voted  to  the  chair,  and  briefly  expressed  his  deep  interest  in  the 
object  of  the  meeting.  Mr.  Palmer,  who  had  been  appointed  to  audit  the  accounts 
for  the  preceding  year,  read  a  financial  statement,  from  which  it  appeared  that 
subscriptions  had  been  received  and  expended  on  building  and  improving  prop- 
erty, but  more  money  was  wanted  to  build  a  residence  for  a  teacher.  The  meet- 
ing was  then  addressed  by  W.  Wilkins,  Esq.,  Secretary  of  the  National  Board 
of  Education,  and  Mr.  Gardener,  Inspector  of  National  Schools,  who  spole  in 
higli  terms  of  the  excellence  of  the  school,  and  warmly  eulogized  the  efHciency 
of  its  instructress,  Mrs.  Davies.  Mr.  I.  Moore  spoke  of  the  wilderness  having 
heen  made  to  blossom  as  the  rose,  through  the  persevering,  self-denying  labors 
of  a  la<ly.  Messrs.  Walker,  Bradly,  Parry,  and  others,  remarked  on  the  advan- 
tnges  M-hich  the  district  had  gained  by  the  establishing  of  a  school  by  Mrs.  Davies' 
self-denving  labors.  On  a  motion  of  Mr.  Wilkins,  a  vote  of  thanks  was  accorded 
to  the  Bu'h  Missionaries  for  conducting  divine  service  on  Sundays.  Thanks  were 
also  accorded  for  the  excellent  tea;  to  Messrs.  Wilkins  and  Gardener  for  their 
interest  that  they  had  in  the  school,  and  to  Mr.  Sayers  for  presiding  over  the 
meeting.  After  a  pleasant  and  interesting  day,  it  terminated  at  a  q,uarter  past 
nine  o'clock. 


452  THE  STORY  OV  AN  EARXIiST  LIFE. 

After  the  builders  were  fairly  at  work,  I  bought  shingles  and  nails 
on  credit  from  strange  merchants  (they  always  trusted  me)  one  week, 
and  the  next  week  would  beg  money  to  pay  for  them.  Then  1 
bought  window  sashes,  and  doors,  and  hinges,  and  flooring.  All  and 
everything  I  did  myself,  as  far  as  buying  and  begging  \Vere  con- 
cerned. Everything  caused  physical  suffering;  but  the  school-house 
went  up,  and  two  rooms  of  the  residence.  I  bought  books,  maps, 
desks,  benches,  chairs,  tables  and  book-press.  I  had  a  well-appointed 
school-house,  and  ere  I  commenced  work  in  my  new  domain,  I  invited 
those  gentlemen  who  had  kindly  helped  my  work  with  their  money,  to 
come  and  see  how  I  had  used  it. 

I  had  called  at  a  house  to  see  a  gentleman  one  day,  but  only  saw  his 
wife.  I  told  her  my  business,  but  she,  though  much  interested  in  what 
I  told  her,  directed  me  to  call  on  her  husband  at  his  office,  which  I  did 
the  next  week.  His  wife  meantime  had  told  him  what  I  had  said  to 
her,  and  he  decided  that  I  was  an  impostor,  in  connection  with  a 
Roman  priest,  who  had  been  deceiving  and  cheating  the  people  in  that 
neighborhood  a  short  time  before.  I  saw  the  gentleman,  and  explained 
the  wants  of  the  people,  and  how  they  could  be  supplied,  and  asked 
him  to  help.      He  said : 

**It  was  the  most  romantic  idea  for  a  lady  to  bury  herself  alive  away 
up  in  the  bush,  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  work  for  a  lot  of  bad  people. 
It  was  too  poetic  to  be  real." 

"Mr.  B ,  I  said,  "under  the  broiling  sun  of  this  hot,  scorching 

day,  I  have  walked  already  fifteen  miles,  and  I  have  yet  to  walk 
farther,  and  at  this  moment  I  neither  feel  romance  nor  poetry  in  the 
exercise,  but  a  stern  reality.  And  it  is  a  sad  fact  that  those  bad  people 
have  children,  and  you  sit  there  with  cool  comforts  around  you,  and 
laugh  at  one  who  tries  to  save  the  young  by  thus  exposing  herself  to  a 
rough  road  and  burning  sun,  and  call  her  romantic,  and  excuse  your- 
self from  helping  them  by  pretending  to  think  that  she  is  an  impostor. 
You  can  not  really  think  that  I  am.  I  refer  you  to  the  American  and 
ex- American  Consuls,"  and  I  bowed  good-day. 

Next  week  I  met  Mr.  W ■-,  ex- American  Consul.     He  told  me 

I  must  dine  with  them  that  day,  Mrs.  W had  something  for  me. 

When  I  saw  her,  she  held  a  letter  in  her  hand,  saying, 

"Something  nice  for  you." 

I  read  the  letter  with  great  pleasure.  It  was  from  the  poetic  Mr. 
B ,  with  a  check  for  money,  and  an  apology,  and  a  pressing  invi- 
tation to  dine  with  them,  that  they  might  the  better  beg  ten  thousand 


RETURN  TO  N.   S.   WALES,   AND  TEACHING  IN  "  'IE  BUSH.  453 

pardons.     Mr.  and  Mrs.  B became  warm  friends  of  mine,  and 

were  ever  after  ready  with  help  when  money  was  needed.    They  were 
at  the  opening  of  the  school-house. 

I  wrote  to  Sir  John  Young,  who  was  then  Governor  of  New  South 
Wales,  to  help  me  with  his  patronage,  to  interest  others  in  my  work. 
He  responded  by  coming  to  see  me,  and  see  what  I  was  doing.  He 
was  accompanied  by  Lord  Tayleur  and  an  orderly.  His  Excellency 
took  quite  an  interest  in  my  work,  and  said  he  would  certainly  help 
me.  We  had  quite  a  long  conversation.  He  told  me  that  I  was  a  lady 
in  a  thousand  to  stay  here  by  myself,  and  do  what  he  knew  no  other 
lady  but  myself  could  do,  and  no  gentleman  would  do.  His  kind 
words  greatly  encouraged  me.  He  wrote  me  a  very  kind  letter,  inclos- 
ing a  check,  and  telling  me  to  use  his  name  in  any  way  I  wished,  if  by 
so  doing  the  work  in  which  I  was  engaged  could  be  forwarded.  His 
permission  given  me  to  use  his  name  greatly  helped  me  in  collecting 
money. 

Mr.  I.  Moore,  who  imported  al|  the  books  and  stationary  for  the 
Government  Schools,  had,  while  I  had  been  buying  my  school  supplies 
from  him,  asked  me  many  questions  as  to  my  location,  work  and  other 
matters,  all  of  which  I  answered  simply  enough.  In  his  speech  at  the 
opening  of  the  school,  he  said: 

"I  am  a  Roman  Catholic.  I  say  this,  because  I  wish  you  to  know 
that.  I  have  watched  Mrs.  Davies  with  suspicious  doubts  for  the  last 
twelve  months.  I  was  always  very  much  interested  in  what  she  said 
she  was  doing,  but  I  did  not  believe  the  one-half.  I  did  not  know  of 
this  place  at  all  till  now,  nor  did  I  believe  such  a  place  existed.  Now 
this  wilderness  is  converted  into  a  flower  garden." 

His  doubts  and  suspicions  astonished  me  as  much  as  his  high  praises, 
now  that  my  work  was  advancing  so  satisfactorily.  Mr.  Wilkins  and 
Mr.  Gardener,  men  in  power,  when  they  spoke  of  the  work  done  amid 
difficulties,  and  spoke  kindly  and  sympathetically  of  me,  I  fairly  broke 

down,  and  had  to  leave  the  room.     I  heard  Mr.  G say  that  praise 

could  not  spoil  me,  I  needed  to  be  held  up.  I  had  many  discourage- 
ments. It  was  true  I  needed  encouragement,  and  praise  only  kept  me 
from  desponding.  Had  I  been  working  to  be  seen  and  applauded  of 
men,  surely  my  triumph  would  have  been  complete  on  that  occasion. 
I  had  much  yet  to  do,  but  I  was  thankful  that  so  far  my  labors  had 
been  crowned  with  success. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  Mr.  C ,  the  rector  of  St.  Thomas,  and 

his  curate  made  me  a  visit.    They  had  come  to  see  whether  they  could 


454  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

take  the  school-house  out  of  my  hands,  that  they  might  have  the  con- 
trol of  it;  or  if  they  could  not  get  the  whole  of  it,  get  a  part  of  it  railed 
off,  and  consecrated  for  the  use  of  the  Church  of  England,  where  the 
curate  could  preach.  The  curate  went  round  to  all  the  people  for 
whom  I  had  been  laboring  for  a  year,  to  try  to  interest  them  in  his 
schemes.  Two  families,  who  had  no  children  at  school,  promised  to 
do  all  they  could  to  get  it  from  me;  they  would  try  to  influence  the 
others  against  me,  and  turn  me  out.  Turn  me  out  of  the  house  that  I 
had  built  for  them.  This  they  could  easily  do,  for  I  had  no  claim  on 
the  premises  whatever;  I  was  not  a  trustee,  nor  had  I  the  deeds  in  my 
possession.  The  Church  of  England  was  arrayed  against  me,  and  I 
stood  alone.  But  I  carried  this  new  difficulty  to  Him  who  is  all  pow- 
erful to  protect,  and  all  wise  to  direct.  I  spread  my  case  before  my 
heavenly  Father,  and  waited  his  time.  Meantime,  more  money  had 
to  be  begged  to  finish  the  two  rooms  of  the  cottage,  so  that  I  could  re- 
move to  them.  I  was  at  the  time  living  in  a  dilapidated  empty  house, 
one  of  my  night  scholars  staying  with  me  for  company  at  night.  She 
also  did  my  cooking,  such  as  it  was. 

One  day  I  had  gone  to  Sydney  on  business.  The  rainy  season  had 
set  in,  and  a  storm  prevented  my  leaving  the  city  that  day.  I  crossed 
the  ferry  on  Sunday  evening;  the  rain  was  then  falling  heavily.  I  had 
not  gone  far  till  I  saw  the  tracks  leading  to  North  Sydney  converted 
to  running  streams,  rushing  down  the  sides  of  the  hills  where  I  had  to 
climb.  Not  seeing  any  tracks,  I  several  times  stumbled  into  deep  ruts 
over  my  knees  in  water,  where  it  had  been  washed,  and  I  had  to  hold 
to  the  bushes  to  keep  from  being  swept  away  by  the  torrent.  The 
great  forest  trees  were  bending  low  over  my  head,  blown  about  by  the 
fury  of  the  wind.  I  expected  every  moment  to  be  felled  to  the  earth 
by  the  falling  branches.  Weary  and  heavy  laden,  with  my  wet  clothes, 
I  reached  my  resting-place,  where  I  expected  to  find  food  and  a  fire, 
but  found  neither.  My  bed-room  floor  was  covered  with  water,  and 
the  young  woman  did  not  take  the  trouble  to  sweep  it  out  or  dry  it.  I 
hung  my  dripping  clothes  on  a  chair,  lay  down  upon  a  damp  bed,  and 
in  the  morning  got  up,  put  on  my  wet  garments — I  had  no  others  con- 
venient— and  stood  teaching  in  them  all  day. 

I  had  been  in  five  different  lodging-places,  each  worse  than  the  other, 
in  the  first  year  of  my  sojourn  at  North  Sydney. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  NEW  SCHOOL-HOUSE. 

I  MOVED  into  the  two  unfinished  rooms  of  the  cottage  before  the  plas- 
tering was  dry.  They  were  also  unfurnished.  I  had  been  interested 
in  learning  the  ways  of  the  people  at  their  different  houses,  but  I  was 
glad  to  have  a  shelter  of  my  own.  I  could  be  more  useful  to  the  peo- 
ple now,  when  under  my  own  roof. 

I  have  had  enough  of  bitter  in  my  cup,  to  feel  assured  that  God  did 
not  intend  to  let  me  live  a  life  of  ease,  or  taste  much  of  pleasure.  If 
he  who  made  me,  and  who  knew  how  weak  I  was,  would  only  fit  and 
strengthen  me  for  my  work,  let  my  cup  be  sweet  or  bitter,  it  did  not 
matter,  if  it  was  mixed  with  God's  unchanging  love.  If  the  unseen 
hand,  that  had  upheld  me  and  led  me,  continued  to  support  me,  the 
desert  path  would  be  easier  to  tread.  I  thought,  if  ever  I  got  to 
heaven,  I  should  have  much  to  be  thankful  for.  Saved  from  my  own 
rebellious  nature,  from  Satan  and  from  the  world. 

I  had  had  a  Government  Inspector  to  visit  and  examine  my  school, 
who  said  he  was  well  pleased  at  the  manner  in  which  it  was  conducted. 
He  asked  me  if  I  would  become  a  national  school  teacher.  He  said 
the  people  could  not,  would  not,  pay  me,  and  the  Government  was 
willing  to  pay  a  competent  teacher. 

"And  the  manner  in  which  you  are  working  and  conducting  a  school 
is  worthy  of  more  than  mere  praise.  The  Government  will  pay  you  if 
you  will  do  its  work. 

Mr.  Gardener's  argument  was  good,  but  without  a  moment's  hesita- 
tion I  refused  a  government  salary,  for  the  reason  I  believed  all  the 
officers  of  the  Board  of  Education  were  infidels,  and  they  ignored  the 
Bible  in  schools,  and  I  could  not  get  along  without  it.  I  said,  if  the 
people  would  let  me  alone  till  I  finished  the  school-house,  then  a 
teacher's  residence,  where  a  respectable  teacher  and  his  wife  could 
live,  then  they  might  put  in  a  National  or  Denominational  teacher.     I 

told  Mr.  G that  I  had  refused  the  offer  of  a  good  salary  from  the 

Episcopal  Church  because  I  could  not  conscientiously  teach  their 
creed  or  catechism;  now  I  again  refused  a  salary  because  I  could  not 

(455) 


456  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

give  up  the  Bible.  He  heard  all  that  I  had  to  say,  then  told  me  I 
need  have  no  fear  of  the  National  Board  taking  the  Bible  fr^m  me, 
who  knew  how  to  make  the  proper  use  of  it.  He  said  the  Board  of 
National  Education  was  composed  of  Christian  gentlemen,  members 
of  different  churches.  I  told  him  he  took  some  trouble  to  soften  my 
prejudices. 

"Yes,  but  it  is  worth  the  trouble." 

I  was  so  pleased  with  this  gentleman's  conciliatory  manner  that  I 
consented  to  visit  the  office  of  the  Board  of  Education.  I  went,  I 
saw,  and  I  was  conquered;  my  prejudices  faded  away  entirely. 
Their  books  were  all  just  what  I  had  been  using.  The  manner  in 
which  I  had  been  teaching  the  Bible,  its  broad  principles  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  not  narrow  Sectarianism,  was  highly  approved.  The 
gentleman  all,  but  especially  the  Secretary  of  the  Board,  Mr.  Wilkins, 
were  courteous  in  the  extreme.  I  learned  their  system  of  keeping  the 
registers  and  records,  and  filling  in  their  returns,  and  all  extra  work, 
and  willingly  enrolled  myself  as  a  teacher  under  the  National  Board. 
From  the  day  Mr.  Gardener  visited  my  school  the  government  allowed 
me  a  salary.     The  Rev.  Dean,  of  Sydney,  had  said  to  me : 

"You  can  not  live  on  mosquitoes." 

"No;  but  with  the  Bible  in  my  hand  and  the  strength  of  God  in 
my  heart  I  shall  work  for  him  and  trust  him  for  bread,"  I  said. 

He  was  now  providing  the  means  by  which  I  could  buy  bread.  He 
had  shown  me  this  token  for  good.  The  Lord  had  surely  helped  me 
and  comforted  me.  Mr.  Wilkins  and  Mr.  Gardener  knew  the  oppo- 
sition that  I  had  to  contend  with,  and  they  generally  held  up  my  hands 
and  encouraged  me,  hence  the  compliment  they  paid  my  school  by 
coming  to  the  opening  of  the  new  house. 

One  morning  as  I  stood  before  a  boy's  class  with  the  Bible  in  my 
hand,  I  noticed  two  who  were  not  quite  at  their  ease.  One  had  a 
meek,  quiet,  external  appearance,  but  had  a  provoking,  teasing  spirit; 
he  had  a  swollen  face,  and  one  eye  black  and  closed.  The  other, 
with  his  fiery  hair  and  his  fierce  passions  all  aglow  in  his  face,  had 
quite  a  defiant  air  in  his  manner.  I  knew  from  their  appearance  that 
they  had  been  fighting.  I  loved  my  boys  dearly  every  one,  but  they 
were  the  veriest  young  scamps  imaginable.  I  wished  to  inspire  these 
boys  with  right  principles,  which  would  teach  them  true  bravery.  I  told 
them  it  was  more  brave  to  bear  a  wrong  than  to  retaliate,  and  the 
most  true  and  brave  spirit  was  the  one  who  could  return  good  for  evil. 
One  of  the  young  belligerents  held  up  his  hand;  he  wished  to  speak. 


THE  NEW  SCHOOL-HOUSE,  457 

"Please  ma'am,"  he  began,  "did  you  not  tell  us  that  the  Bible  said 
we  were  to  obey  our  parents?" 

"Yes,  I  have  taught  you  to  obey  your  parents." 

"Well,  my  mother  told  me  that  if  any  one  hit  me  I  was  to  knock 
him  down  if  I  could ;  so  Johnnie  hit  me  because  I  took  his  composition 
from  him,  and  I  just  bunged  up  his  eye  and  knocked  him  down  as 
mother  told  me." 

I  was  a  little  amused  at  the  ready  obedience  of  children  to  do  wrong. 
I  was  reminded  of  Satan  quoting  the  Scriptures  to  Christ. 

"Suppose  your  mother  had  told  you  to  steal  money  from  a  store  in 
town,  would  you  do  it  because  your  mother  told  you  ?" 

"Oh,  no,"  said  he;  "for  that  would  be  against  the  law,  and  they 
would  punish  me." 

"You  say  the  Bible  tells  you  to  obey  your  parents." 

The  boy  looked  thoughtful.  The  class  was  interested  and  attentive, 
while  I  told  them  they  were  to  obey  their  parents  only  in  the  Lord; 
and  if  their  parents  told  them  to  fight  or  steal,  the  Lord  said,  "Thou 
shalt  not  steal;"  and  he  taught  that  we  were  to  return  good  for  evil, 
and  not  evil  for  evil ;  not  to  strike  back  because  one  struck  us.  This 
is  the  Lord's  law,  and  if  you  break  it  he  will  punish  you. 

"Who  of  you  are  willing  to  be  called  the  children  of  God?" 

Up  went  all  hands. 

"Then  you  must  try  and  keep  God's  law  in  everything." 

On  one  occasion  Mr.  Gardener  came  to  inspect  the  school,  and  for  the 
time  being  I  gave  it  up  to  him,  and  while  he  was  inspecting  the  boy's 
class  I  was  at  the  other  end  of  the  room.  He  came  to  me,  slate  in 
hand,  and  asked  me,  in  rather  a  stern  tone,  if  that  was  the  way  I 
taught  arithmetic. 

"That  figure  ought  to  be  five  and  it  is  six;  the  boys  must  have 
copied  one  of  another,  for  they  are  all  alike." 

"Well,"  I  said,  "if  they  have  done  wrong,  ask  them  and  they  will 
acknowledge  it." 

"Do  you  mean  to  say  they  will  tell  me  if  they  had  copied  their 
sums?" 

"Yes,  you  may  depend  on  them." 

With  a  smile  on  his  face,  he  said:  "Well,  madam,  they  have  al- 
ready told  me,  and  they  do  your  teaching  honor,  as  you  by  your  teach- 
ing honor  God.  I  am  better  pleased  at  hearing  this  lesson  than  if  I 
had  heard  all  the  sums  in  the  book.  These  will  l>e  the  men  by  and 
by,  true  and  trustworthy,  who  will  honor  the  laws  of  God  and  man; 


4S8  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

who  will  be  the  bulwark  of  their  countiy,  an  honor  and  a  blessing." 

Turning  to  the  boys,  he  said:  "You  have  had  the  moral  courage  to 
tell  the  truth  against  yourselves.  I  am  greatly  pleased  with  you  for 
this,  but  I  give  your  teacher  the  credit  of  training  your  minds  to  think 
right.  Obey  her,  honor  her,  and  you  will  do  well.  I  have  examined 
many  schools,  but  this  is  the  first  class  in  which  I  have  found  a  teacher 
have  implicit  faith  in  its  truthfulness." 

I  now  turned  to  the  boys,  and  told  them  to  redeem  themselves  from 
the  disgrace  of  what  they  had  done,  by  doing  their  work,  and  -show 
that  their  own  was  better  than  a  copy.  This  they  did,  and  they  ac- 
quitted themselves  splendidly. 

Mr.  G told  me  that  I  must  give  up  my  night  class  for  a  time. 

I  was  not  able  to  do  so  much  as  I  was  doing,  and  my  government 
writing  would  take  up  a  great  part  of  my  spare  time.  I  gave  it  up, 
but  found  myself  very  lonesome  from  4  o'clock  P.  M.  to  9  o'clock 
A.  M.  True,  I  slept  part  of  the  time,  but  I  had  no  one  to  talk  to  in 
the  evenings. 

I  procured  respectable  situations  for  most  of  my  night  scholars,  and 
they  gave  general  satisfaction.  They  always  came  to  their  homes  on 
Saturday  nights,  and  were  ready  for  their  Sunday-school  duties  next 
day. 

The  school-house  was  dotted  down  in  the  midst  of  a  great  forest  of 
eucalypti,  without  fence  of  any  kind.  A  spot  large  enough  to  build 
the  house  on  was  cleared,  that  was  all.  One  night  I  was  kept  awake 
all  night  by  loud  breathing  just  against  my  bed-head  outside.  My 
heart  almost  stood  still  with  an  undefined  feeling.  As  soon  as  day- 
light came,  I  rose  and  went  to  the  door,  opened  it  on  the  wild  bush, 
and  was  going  cautiouly  to  look  for  the  sleeping-place  of  the  person 
who  kept  me  awake,  when  lo !  a  cow  presented  her  head,  horns  and 
all,  for  admittance.  I  slammed  the  door  in  her  face  with  a  startled  cry, 
and  sat  down  and  laughed  at  my  idle  fears — only  a  cow  to  keep  me 
uncomfortable  all  night.      I  asked  God  to  give  me  more  courage. 

One  Monday  morning,  in  answer  to  a  loud  knock  at  my  front  door, 
I  opened  it  and  saw  two  well-dressed  men,  strangers  to  me.  They 
asked  me  if  I  had  seen  a  strange  man  up  here  the  day  before.  I  said 
I  had  seen  no  stranger  at  the  public  worship  in  the  school-house. 
One  of  the  men  said: 

"Oh,  he  would  not  likely  be  at  church." 

"Then  I  could  see  him  nowhere  else,  for  I  have  not  been  off  the 
premises.     Was  he  well  dressed?"  I  asked. 


THE  NEW  SCHOOL-HOUSE.  459 

"No,  he  was  not  well  dressed,"  was  the  curt  reply. 

"Was  he  a  respectable  man?"  I  again  asked. 

"No,  he  was  not  a  respectable  man." 

"Well,  was  he  a  bad  man?"  I  again  asked. 

"Yes,  he  was  a  bad  man." 

"Was  he  a  very  bad  man?" 

"Yes,  he  was  a  very  bad  man." 

I  was  becoming  excited  at  this  man's  manner,  and  I  said : 

"Perhaps  you  are  looking  for  him  because  he  is  bad." 

"Yes,  we  are  looking  for  him  because  he  is  bad,  and  he  opened  his 
jacket  a  little,  and  I  saw  that  he  was  armed  to  the  teeth." 

I  shuddered;  then  the  silent  man  came  forward,  and  said: 

"I  see,  madam,  that  you  are  alarmed,  and  we  had  better  tell  you 
that  we  are  detectives,  and  on  the  track  of  a  murderer  who  has  been 
traced  to  that  house,"  pointing  to  a  house  a  few  yards  below  the  school- 
house,  but  hidden  by  the  trees,  "and  he  is  not  far  from  here  now." 

"Ohl"  I  gasped,"  do  you  think  he  will  come  here?" 

"He  might  come  for  food  or  water." 

They  left  me  with  a  perturbed  spirit.  I  shut  my  door  and  went  to 
my  knees,  for  I  was  in  trouble.  A  murderer  prowling  around  my 
cottage  door,  and  I  alone!  "O  Father,  protect  me."  "Thou  wilt 
keep  him  in  perfect  peace  whose  mind  is  stayed  on  thee." 

The  blood-stained  man  had  been  at  my  back  door  listening  to  the 
armed  detectives  speaking  to  me  at  my  front  door.  How  long  he  had 
been  there  who  can  tell  ?  He  left  his  hiding-place,  and  went  up  the 
road  and  was  overtaken.  He  was  disguised,  and  he  pretended  to  be 
a  workman  of  the  place,  and  so  escaped  for  the  time.  In  a  short  time 
the  hue  and  cry  was, 

"Catch  the  murderer." 

But  he  had  the  start  of  them.  He  reached  the  rocks  near  the 
sea  where  the  horses  could  not  follow  him ;  he  took  to  the  water, 
and  reached  Sydney,  but  was  caught  three  weeks  after,  tried,  con- 
demned and  hung  for  his  crime.  I  was  greatly  relieved  when  1  heard 
of  the  execution,  for  since  he  had  been  so  near  my  lonely  cottage 
once,  I  feared  he  might  come  again,  but  my  fears  were  now  buried  in 
his  grave. 

Mr.  Wilkins  in  a  laughing  way  asked  me  one  day  where  I  bought 
my  sugar  and  tea. 

"I  bought  them  at  Sydney." 

"How  do  you  convey  it  to  your  house?" 


460  THK  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

I  said  I  carried  all  my  provisions,  and  when  loaded  with  a  week's 
store,  I  walked  seven  miles  uphill  in  the  rain,  sometimes  up  to  my 
knees  in  water,  and  sometimes  under  a  broiling  sun.  I  found  it  hard 
work,  and  sometimes  my  supply  would  be  exhausted  ere  I  could  renew 
it,  and  often  I  would  not  have  food  for  two  days;  but  I  worked  hard, 
and  forgot  my  wants. 

At  North  Sydney,  as  at  Illawarra,  we  had  fearful  thunder  storms. 
Running  north  and  south  is  a  belt  of  ironstone,  on  which  were  built 
several  houses  miles  apart.  The  school-house  is  on  this  belt.  In  one 
house  a  lady  was  killed  with  lightning  one  year;  the  next  year  another 
lady  was  killed  in  the  same  way  in  another  house.  Living  entirely 
alone  on  a  line  v/ith  those  houses,  I  thought  my  time  to  be  killed  would 
surely  come.  I  did  not  give  way  to  idle  fears,  but  I  took  every  pre- 
caution that  I  could  to  save  myself.  After  sundown  one  evening,  one 
of  these  terrific  storms  burst  overhead.  I  covered  everything  that  I 
thought  would  attract  the  lightning.  I  covered  the  windows  with  dark 
thick  quilts,  put  my  light  out,  and  sat  down  on  a  chair  a  la  Turc  in 
the  middle  of  the  room,  shut  my  eyes,  and  there  waited  my  doom. 
The  whole  interior  of  the  house  would  be  lighted  up  with  a  fierce  blue 
flame,  and  at  every  crash  I  thought  the  house  was  gone.  At  those  aw- 
ful moments  I  felt  very  near  to  God,  as  he  spoke  to  me  in  thunder 
tones,  as  I  also  felt  in  the  lone  hour  of  night,  when  he  spoke  to  me  in 
whispers.  I  heard  him  in  the  sighing  wind,  the  rustling  leaf,  and  the 
murmuring  sea.  I  was  still,  for  I  knew  that  I  was  under  the  shadow 
of  his  wings.  My  exposed  helpless  condition  compelled  me  to  trust  in 
God  at  all  times,  for  in  him  only  was  safety.  He  who  purifies  the  heart 
through  suffering  lends  strength  to  the  sufferer. 

A  few  little  children  came  into  the  school-room  one  morning,  and 
sat  down  very  quietly.  I  was  writing.  I  heard  a  dull,  heavy  flop 
on  the  floor.  I  looked  round,  and  to  my  horror  I  saw  a  monstrous 
black  snake,  that  had  come  up  from  under  the  floor,  through  between 
shrunken  boards  and  the  wall,  and  was  slowly  wriggling  along  toward 
the  children.  I  called  to  them  to  run  out  of  the  room,  and  so  they  did 
in  a  hurry  when  they  saw  the  ugly  reptile.  He  stretched  himself  out 
at  full  length  along  the  wall  opposite  to  me.  We  watched  each  other 
for  some  time.  I  was  afraid  to  move,  till  some  of  the  larger  boys  came, 
and  gave  battle  with  sticks  to  his  snakeship;  but  he  took  refuge  under 
the  floor  again.  As  the  children  came  in,  I  had  them  all  to  sit  on  the 
desks  with  their  feet  on  the  benches,  to  prevent  the  snake  biting  any 
of  them,  as  the  boards  were  so  open  he  could  crawl  out  and  in  at  will. 


THE  XEW  SCHOOL-HOUSE.  46 1 

Some  of  my  young  scamps  made  me  jump  once  or  twice,  by  calling  out, 

"The  snake  is  under  you,  ma'am." 

The  mischievous  youngsters  would  enjoy  my  tremor.  I  had  to  stop 
my  work  at  last  to  talk  to  them.  I  told  them  that  I  had  a  great  dread 
of  snakes;  that  I  had  put  them  (the  children)  all  on  a  place  of  safety, 
and  as  I  had  to  stand  or  walk  on  the  floor,  I  alone  was  in  any  danger ; 
so  I  hoped  they  would  watch  for  the  snake,  and  tel\  me  if  they  really 
saw  him,  but  not  to  frighten  me  unnecessarily.  This  they  promised  to 
do,  and  I  had  no  more  alarms  that  day.  After  I  dismissed  school,  I 
retained  four  of  the  largest  boys,'  and  said: 

"Boys,  this  is  Friday,  and  you  will  not  be  here  till  Sunday,  and  I 
am  afraid  to  be  here  alone  with  that  great  ugly  snake  under  the  floor. 
Let  us  take  up  the  boards,  and  find  him,  and  kill  him." 

No  sooner  said  than  to  work  they  went,  tore  up  the  boards,  and  they 
saw  a  great  glittering  coil  in  a  corner,  that  they  battered  with  sticks, 
shovel  and  poker,  hauled  him  out,  dragged  him  to  a  pyre,  and  burned 
him.  I  thanked  my  young  protectors,  and  sent  them  home  happy. 
I  had  several  snakes  to  trouble  me,  as  the  uncleared  forest  all  round 
was  infested  with  these  reptiles.  One  day  I  saw  my  cat  eating 
one.  First  he  had  bitten  the  head  and  a  piece  of  the  neck  off",  and 
that  lay  apart,  and  he  was  enjoying  his  meal,  when  I  had  a  boy  take 
and  burn  the  reptile.  Another  time,  I  was  coming  home  from  the  city, 
when  I  saw  my  cat  outside  give  a  great  leap,  and  fall  down,  and  stretch 
himself  out.  I  ran  to  see  what  was  the  matter,  when  I  saw  in  front  of 
me  a  large  coil,  from  which  rose  a  head  with  forked  tongue  just  as  I 
was  about  to  step  on  it.  I  started  in  terror,  and  called  to  two  men, 
who  were  passing  at  the  time,  to  come  and  kill  the  snake.  It  had  been 
disabled  by  the  cat,  but  pussy  had  received  a  fatal  bite  and  died. 
Another  time,  I  was  standing  at  my  back  door,  when  tabby,  who  was 
basking  in  the  sun  a  few  feet  from  me,  all  at  once  bristled  up,  and 
made  a  great  fuss,  and  sidled  toward  the  fence,  still  looking  toward  the 
house;  he  then  turned  the  corner  of  the  house,  keeping  at  a  distance 
from  it.  I  went  over  to  him  to  see  what  he  was  spitting  so  spitefully 
at,  and  to  my  horror  and  disgust  I  saw  a  monstrous  black  snake,  the 
largest  I  had  yet  seen,  slowly  crawling  along  the  wall  of  the  school- 
room toward  the  door.  In  my  terror  I  ran  in  through  the  school-room 
just  as  his  snakeship  was  about  to  find  entrance  at  the  front  door.  The 
hideous  creature  reared  itself  up,  and  darted  its  forked  tongue  at  my 
face.  As  quick  as  thought  I  drew  back,  and  threw  a  hatchet  at  him, 
that  I  had  in  my  hand,  which  flew  wide  of  the  mark.     He  turned,  and 


462  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

went  back  the  way  he  came.  I  ran  back  through  the  house  to  the  back 
door,  where  I  saw  him  twine  himself  around  a  long  rail  of  a  fence,  and 
lie  sunning  himself,  and  there  I  stood  watching  him  for  three  long 
hours,  till  I  heard  a  cart  go  past,  and  I  called  the  man  to  come  and 
kill  the  reptile.  But  he  was  too  large  to  attack  single-handed,  so  he 
went  foi  two  other  men  and  a  gun,  and  they  had  great  difficulty  in  kill- 
ing the  monster.  Thus  was  I  kept  in  constant  dread  by  these  ven- 
omous creatures 

Among  my  other  duties,  I  had  been  called  upon  to  cure  the  sick,  I 
had  evei  been  ready  to  nurse  the  sick,  but  had  no  pretension  to  the  heal- 
ing art.  One  of  my  boys  took  sick;  I  went  to  see  him,  and  found  him 
in  a  high  fever,  on  a  dirty  bed,  in  a  close  room.  The  poor  little  fellow 
looked  to  me  for  help,  and  I  went  to  work  and  wrapped  him  up  in  a 
wet  sheet,  and  sat  by  him,  for  the  family  seemed  horrified  at  what  I 
did.  I  told  them  to  let  fresh  air  into  the  room,  and  bring  me  a  tub  of 
clean  cold  water,  and  when  it  was  time  to  take  the  half-baked  boy  out 
of  the  sheet,  I  plunged  him  into  the  cold  water,  gave  him  a  good  scrub- 
bing, and  put  clean  clothes  on  him.  He  was  relieved  at  once,  and 
got  well  very  soon.  My  fame  went  abroad,  and  all  came  to  me  to  heal 
their  sick.  I  was  kept  busy  every  spare  hour  from  my  school  duties, 
to  prescribe  for  sickness,  brought  on  by  dirt  and  over-eating.  Cleansing 
and  dieting  were  my  prescriptions.  Thus  far  and  no  farther  could  I, 
or  did  I,  go.    When  there  was  a  serious  case,  I  sent  them  to  the  doctor. 

On  an  Easter  Monday  we  were  decorating  our  large  school-room 
with  flowers.  Celia  Smith  (whose  father  had  turned  me  out  of  doors) 
was  helping,  herself  as  fair  as  any  lily.  She  was  a  sweet,  pretty  girl, 
though  she  had  such  wicked  parents,  who  set  her  an  evil  example. 
She  had  become  seriously  inclined,  and  attended  Sunday-school  and 
prayer-meetings  regularly.  She  had  been  a  night  scholar,  but  was  now 
a  day  scholar,  and  tried  to  be  a  good  girl.  I  was  about  to  give  my 
scholars  a  party,  and  Celia  was  full  of  young,  happy  Hfe.  Her  mother, 
who,  she  thought,  was  not  prepared  to  die,  had  just  escaped  from  the 
jaws  of  death,  and  she  was  glad.  Beautiful  fresh  floAvers  surrounded 
her,  and  the  room  was  brilliant.  That  day  week  the  brilliance  of  the 
flowers  had  gone;  they  hung  withered  and  dead  against  the  wall;  but 
we  were  again  in  the  midst  of  fresh  flowers.  The  most  brilliant  of  the 
flowers  of  a  week  ago  lay  withered  and  dead  in  her  coffin,  and  the 
fresh  flowers  were  to  deck  her  grave.     Celia  was  dead. 

Sickness  entered  the  home  of  Smith,  and  he  lost  three  children  in 
one  week;  Cefia,  the  eldest,  seventeen  and  a  half  years  old,  one  about 


THE  NEW  SCHOOL-HOUSE.  463 

six  years,  and  a  baby.  I  went  to  them  in  their  trouble,  and  asked 
if  they  would  accept  my  help  to  nurse  their  sick.  They  were  so 
quarrelsome  and  abusive  to  their  neighbors,  that  no  one  cared  if 
tliey  all  died,  so  no  one  went  near  them  to  help  them  in  their 
need.  To  be  sure  the  neighbors  were  afraid  of  diphtheria.  I 
had  no  fear  for  myself,  and  they  seemed  glad  to  accept  my  ser- 
vices. The  poor  suffering  Celia  did  not  long  survive  after  her  at- 
tack. Her  death-bed  was  very  affecting.  She  begged  her  father  to 
be  a  better  man,  and  set  a  good  example  to  her  brothers  and  sis- 
ters, to  attend  the  prayer-meetings  and  public  service,  all  which  he 
jjromised  to  do.  While  the  undertaker  was  busy  at  the  house  with 
coffin  and  corpse,  I  had  all  the  children  and  young  people  assembled  in 
the  school-room,  ready  to  join  in  the  procession.  All  who  could  dressed, 
as  I  did,  in  white,  and  all  carried  flowers.  While  waiting,  I  exhorted 
them  all  so  to  live,  that  when  called  upon  at  any  time,  they  might  be 
ready  to  obey  the  summons.  They  were  all  deeply  affected.  The 
cart  came  rumbling  along,  on  which  lay  the  coffin  that  held  the  beau- 
tiful casket  of  the  jewel  that  a  week  ago  had  shone  so  bright  among 
her  schoolmates.  We  had  a  long  six  miles'  walk  to  the  cemetery.  Her 
schoolmates,  my  young  men,  were  her  pall-bearers;  they  carried  her 
gently,  and  laid  her  low,  and  left  her  there  till  the  last  trump  shall 
awake  her.  On  the  following  Sunday,  the  whole  family  for  the  first 
time  were  at  public  worship.  The  mother  soon  tired  of  coming  to  the 
preaching,  but  Smith  was  regular  in  his  attendance,  and  also  at  the 
prayer-meetings,  and  prayed  most  earnestly  for  blessings  upon  the  head 
of  the  good  governess;  prayed  that  the  Lord  would  smooth  her  rugged 
path,  and  make  powerless  her  enemies,  for  she  had  many  in  the  place. 
"God  help  her  in  her  work,  for  it  is  a  glorious  one.  Give  her  strength 
to  overcome  every  difficulty."  And  finally  he  thanked  the  Lord  for 
sending  so  kind  and  good  a  governess  to  them  in  this  out  of  the  way 
place.  This  man,  since  he  had  turned  me  out  of  doors  without  a 
shelter,  had  been  the  worst  enemy  I  had  in  the  place.  He  was  a  liar, 
and  had  tried  to  do  me  injury  in  every  way. 

Nothing  daunted,  however,  I  went  on  in  God's  strength  to  work, 
hoping  in  time  to  accomplish  some  good.  I  wrote  a  letter  to  this  man, 
and  told  him  I  had  forgiven  him  all  the  evil  he  had  done  to  me  in  the 
time  past.  I  told  him,  however,  how  hateful  in  the  sight  of  Clod  was 
a  liar,  a  defamer  and  a  blasphemer,  all  of  which  he  was,  and  more. 
Oh,  he  was  a  fearful  wicked  man.  He  acknowledged  all  his  sinsj 
said  he  was  sorry  for  what  he  had  done,  or  tried  to  do,  to  me,  and  he 


464  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE, 

could  never  forget  my  kindness  to  his  dying  children.  To  show  this 
man  that  I  believed  in  his  repentance  and  forgave  him  sincerely,  I 
employed  him  to  do  some  fencing ;  and  as  usual  had  to  walk  many 
miles  to  beg  for  money  to  pay  for  it.  I  returned  him  all  the  good  I 
could  for  the  evil  he  had  done  me,  and  so  the  work  went  on  for  six 
months.  I  paid  him  well  for  his  work  as  soon  as  it  was  done.  At  the 
prayer-meetings,  when  he  prayed  for  me,  he  often  disgusted  me  by 
the  fulsomeness  of  his  flattery,  but  believing  the  man  sincere,  I  bore 
with  it,  though  I  was  tired  hearing  my  own  praises  so  oft  repeated. 

Smith  had  been  to  an  election  one  day,  and  came  from  it  to  prayer- 
meeting.  He  was  called  on  to  pray,  and  he  broke  out  in  a  most  up- 
roarious manner,  to  pray  for  the  prosperity  of  the  school  in  a  general 
way;  and  when  he  rose  from  his  knees  he  turned  to  me  and  shook  his 
clenched  fist  in  my  face  close  to  it,  and  swore  that  he  would  destroy 
me,  and  he  hoped  that  his  right  arm  might  rot  out  from  his  shoulder  if 
he  did  not  do  it,  and  he  would  root  me  out  with  it.  First  he  said  he 
would  blast  my  reputation,  but  he  would  do  it  in  a  way  that  the  law 
could  not  take  hold  of  him.  Then  all  the  children  would  be  with- 
drawn from  school,  then  my  government  salary  would  be  withdrawn. 
Here  he  breathed  out  the  most  horrid  curses,  so  that  I  had  to  put  my 
hands  over  my  ears.  I  was  frightened  at  his  blasphemy.  He  then 
laughed  a  most  fiendish  laugh,  exulting  in  the  great  evil  that  he  ex- 
pected to  do  me,  and  swore  he  would  compass  it. 

"Then  Mr.  Clarke  can  get  a  Church-of-England  teacher  and  put  in 
your  place,  and  the  school  and  all  that  belongs  to  it  will  then  be  turned 
over  to  the  Church  of  England." 

He  said,  stretching  out  his  arm  before  me :  "Do  not  put  your,  trust 
in  an  arm  of  flesh,  for  this  one  is  bound  to  work  your  ruin;  it  will 
utterly  destroy  you." 

Words  fail  to  convey  an  idea  of  what  I  felt.  My  feelings  bafiled 
description.  I  could  not  realize,  as  I  sat  motionless,  that  the  same 
man  who  prayed  so  loudly  a  few  minutes  ago  was  uttering  such  deep 
curses  now;  but  it  was  the  same  voice.  I  was  amazed  and  shocked 
at  his  profanity.  I  was  tcrriiied  at  his  horrid  gestures.  Had  he  had 
ochre  on  his  skin  instead  of  a  blue  shirt,  he  would  have  been  taken 
for  a  painted  savage.  The  women  left  the  meeting.  A  few  young 
men  remained,  and  asked  the  vile  man  what  he  meant  by  such  con- 
duct at  a  prayer-meeting  ?  Had  he  not  confessed  that  he  had  been 
very  wicked,  and  professed  to  be  a  changed  man  ?  Had  he  not  been 
welcomed  to  the  prayer-meeting,  and  been  kindly  treated  by  the  mis- 


THE  NEW  SCHOOL-HOUSE.  465 

tress,  and  was  this  the  return  for  so  much  ?  Was  his  religion  put  on 
for  a  cloak?" 

"Yes,"  said  Smith,  "I  put  on  the  cloak,  for  without  it  I  could  not 
get  at  her,"  pointing  at  me. 

"So,"  said  a  young  man,  "you  put  on  sheep's  clothing  that  you 
might  destroy  some  of  the  flock." 

"Yes,"  he  said;   "and  I  have  sworn  to  do  it.     I  know  how." 

With  a  violent  gesture,  as  if  throwing  off  a  garment,  he  said  : 

"I  am  tired  vrearing  the  cloak;  I  now  cast  it  off  and  shall  keep  it 
off.  My  wife  did  not  want  me  to  put  on  the  cloak,  but  I  wanted  her 
rooted  out  of  the  community,"  pointing  to  me. 

"The  plot  is  laid,  and  we'll  do  it." 

And  he  jumped  about  and  clapped  his  hands  like  a  maniac  in  fiend- 
ish glee.  I  was  so  alarmed  that  I  grew  cold  as  marble,  and  nearly  as 
rigid;  for  I  thought  the  man  had  gone  mad.  He  was  forbidden  to 
come  to  their  prayer-meetings  any  more.  He  laid  bare  his  plot  for 
my  destruction ;  it  was  a  deep,  dark,  diabolical  plot. 

After  they  all  left  the  school-room,  I  was  in  great  fear,  and  stag- 
gering to  the  door  locked  it,  and  sank  down  on  a  bench,  and  cried : 

"Who  next,  and  what  next?" 

I  wrung  my  hands  in  terror.  I  was  alone  in  that  dreary  place,  and 
in  the  vicinity  of  a  wild,  wicked  man.  I  forgot  in  my  terror  for  the 
moment  that  the  Lord  was  my  shield;  that  though  a  bad  man  was 
plotting  against  me,  and  gnashing  upon  me  with  his  teeth,  I  could  trust 
the  I>ord  and  he  would  bring  it  all  right.  "Fear  not,  for  I  am  with 
thee;  be  not  dismayed,  for  I  am  thy  God;  I  will  strengthen  thee :  yea, 
I  will  help  thee.  The  oppressor  will  do  no  wrong  to  the  stranger, 
the  fatherless,  nor  the  widow."  Oh,  the  lonesome  feelings  that  took 
possession  of  the  stranger  that  night;  not  because  I  was  alone,  but 
because  of  my  surroundings. 

"It  is  not  good  for  man  to  be  alone;"  so  spoke  the  author  of  our 
being.  He  knows  our  frame;  how  weak  it  is.  Our  dear  Lord  knew 
how  to  arrange  according  to  the  full  necessities  of  human  nature. 
When  he  wished  to  extend  his  own  kingdom,  he  sent  out  two  and  two 
of  his  disciples,  that  the  deficiency  of  the  one  might  be  supplied  by 
the  efficiency  of  the  other.  Hence  we  have  Peter  the  bold,  impulsive- 
hearted,  with  the  gentle,  loving-hearted  John.  We  read  of  the  apos- 
tles being  in  pairs  —  Simon  and  Andrew,  James  and  John.  I  had 
fully  realized  since  I  went  to  that  place  that  it  was  not  good  for  a 
30 


466  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

woman  to  live  alone,  the  contending  elements  were  so  many  and  so 
varied.  Were  I  a  Romanist,  I  would  take  great  credit  for  my  work 
done  here ;  but  the  feeling  of  weakness,  inefficiency  and  lonesomeness 
was  so  great,  that  it  unfitted  me  for  taking  credit  for  any  work  done ; 
it  utterly  deprived  me  of  a  single  work  of  my  own  on  which  to  rest  my 
heart  or  thoughts.  It  was  a  power  beyond  my  own  that  worked  in 
me  and  by  me,  to  will  and  to  do  of  His  good  pleasure. 

After  the  eventful  prayer-meeting,  I  was  greatly  depressed.  I  knew 
that  the  Lord  had  permitted  that  horrid  man  to  speak  and  act  as  he 
did  for  some  wise  purpose;  but  I  could  not  see  it.  I  did  not  now  fear 
the  man.  But  the  burden  of  my  prayer  was,  to  take  away  the  feel- 
ing of  intolerable  lonesomeness  and  give  me  strength  to  struggle  with 
the  difficulties  that  lay  in  my  pathway.  The  people  did  not  seem  to 
support  or  sympathize  with  me,  and  for  a  time  the  children  were  not 
regular  in  their  attendance  at  school.  I  thought  Smith's  machinations 
might  be  at  work,  and  the  Lord  was  taking  this  way  to  bring  my  work 
to  a  close.  I  thought  if  the  Lord  was  against  me  I  would  cease  to 
strive  for  the  mastery.  Again,  I  would  think  the  Lord  has  been  good 
and  gracious  to  me  hitherto,  giving  me  courage  and  strength  to  over- 
come great  obstacles;  surely  he  will  not  forsake  me  now  I  thought. 
Then  I  would  go  to  him  for  a  supply  of  what  I  needed.  I  called  a 
meeting  of  the  patrons  of  the  school.  It  was  the  first  time  they  ever 
met.  Their  duty  was  to  meet  once  a  month.  I  demanded  as  a  right 
that  they  should  record  my  conduct,  the  manner  in  which  the  school 
was  conducted,  and  see  to  it,  that  it  was  conducted  according  to  the 
rules  laid  down  by  the  Queen's  commissioners.  These  people  were 
ignorant,  and  thought  I  wanted  flattery;  and  if  that  was  what  I  wanted 
they  gave  me  enough ;  but  I  told  them  it  was  protection  not  praise  I 
wanted.  Had  I  given  way  to  my  disgusted,  discouraged  feelings,  I 
should  have  left  at  that  time.  I  went  to  the  Lord  as  usual  to  tell  my 
troubles;  I  had  no  one  else  to  go  to.  The  Board  of  National  Educa- 
tion gave  me  more  work  to  do  every  quarter.  My  work  was  not  yet 
done  at  North  Sydney.  I  had  daily,  weekly,  monthly,  quarterly, 
yearly  reports  to  fill  in,  besides  rolls,  registers  and  records,  and  my 
school  work  from  9  A.  M.  to  4  P.  M.,  and  the  building  and  fencing 
were  not  fmished,  nor  the  money  begged  to  pay  for  the  work.  No, 
my  work  was  not  done  at  North  Sydney,  but  I  had  no  help  from  the 
indifferent  ones,  and  great  trouble  from  the  wicked  ones.  My  life  was 
dreary,  very  -dreary.  I  had  to  take  all  my  long  walks  alone  now,  as 
.my  night  scholars  were  all  in  good  situations  at  a  distance. 


THE  NEW  SCHOOL-HOUSE.  467 

A  friend  wrote  to  nie  a  few  words  of  great  encouragement,  at  least  I 
took  heart  from  them.     He  said : 

"I  wish  there  were  more  such  schools  as  yours  in  the  distant  parts 
of  the  colony;  there  would  be  fewer  bushrangers"  (highway  robbers). 

I  hope  and  believe  and  work  for  this,  that  the  children  of  my  school 
shall  be  good  and  useful  in  the  future ;  that  respectable  and  responsi- 
ble situations  may  be  filled  by  them  honorably,  and  not  prisons  and 
pauper-houses. 

Another  year  had  rolled  round,  and  the  Inspector-in-Chief  was  in- 
specting my  school  again.  I  knew  not  his  programme,  but  the  exam- 
ination was  most  rigid ;  the  result  highly  satisfactory.  Mr.  Gardener 
said: 

"The  standard  the  National  Board  has  for  these  schools  is  very 
high  ;  but  your  school  has  come  up  to  it  and  passed  it  in  every  respect. 
Go  on  in  the  same  course." 

This  was  more  encouragement  from  a  first-class  educator  and  a 
Christian  gentleman.  I  had  an  official  document  from  headquarters 
soon  after  this  examination. 

National  Educational  Office,  Sydney,  May,  1865. 
Madam  : — I  have  the  honor,  by  the  direction  of  the  Board  of  National  Edu- 
cation, to  acquaint  you  that,  on   the  recommendation  of  the  senior  inspector, 

they  have  advanced  you  from  the  rank  of  to  ,  the  increased  salary  to 

take  effect  from  first  of  June  proximo. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  madam,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

W.  WiLKiNS,  Secretary. 

Here  was  more  encouragement  and  appreciation  of  my  work.  God 
was  strengthening  the  weak,  and  holding  up  the  feeble.  After  this 
examination,  children  from  a  great  distance  were  sent  to  school.  The 
Board  wished  to  remove  me  to  a  better  location,  but  knew  of  no  one 
who  would  or  could  take  my  place.  As  His  Excellency  had  said,  so 
said  they:  "No  lady  could,  and  no  gentleman  would."  I  told  Mr. 
G that  the  work  on  the  premises  was  not  finished  yet. 

"It  would  be  a  pity  to  take  you  away  from  where  you  have  been  so 
eminently  useful,  where  you  have  evidently  done  so  much  good.  I 
have  walched  your  career  for  the  last  two  years.  I  thought  at  first  that 
you  attenjpted  too  much,  but  you  have  gone  beyond  our  expectations." 

This  wos  a  buoy  to  my  sinking  spirits.  The  Father  was  having  pity 
on  his  chiUl.  I  had  been  cast  down,  but  not  destroyed.  I  knew  my 
young  rouglis  were  improving,  and  they  loved  me  dearly,  and  I  was 
grateful  to  Mr.  G for  his  appreciation  of  their  moral  and  intellect- 


468  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

ual  training.  He  had  seen  that  I  was  powerless  even  with  children 
without  the  Bible. 

I  had  no  trouble  in  buying  timber  on  credit,  to  build  two  more 
rooms  to  the  cottage,  nor  difficulty  in  begging  for  money  to  pay 
for  it,  and  to  put  up  the  building.  My  only  difficulty  was  in  the 
long,  hot,  rough  roads  I  had  to  travel  over,  and  not  being  made 
of  iron,  I  was  often  very  weary.  The  work  wore  and  tore  my  sys- 
tem greatly.  Letters  from  American  friends  said,  they  did  not  think 
that  God  intended  me  to  stay  alone  in  that  place  without  friends  or 
associates.  I  thought  God  had  placed  me  in  trying  circumstances  to 
prove  me.  I  dared  not  to  take  God  to  account  for  having  placed  me 
where  I  had  volunteered  to  go,  to  perform  my  vows  to  Him.  I  only 
wished  to  do  my  duty.  It  was  difficult  to  procure  the  necessaries  of 
life;  I  often  had  to  go  hungry  for  want  of  them,  consequently  my  out- 
lays were  not  great.  I  never  had  been  provident,  never  having  made 
money  an  object  where  work  was  to  be  done;  but  I  had  been  taught 
some  hard  lessons  by  experience,  that  I  hoped  not  soon  to  forget.  The 
money  that  could  not  procure  me  bread  was  religiously  put  on  one  side 
for  the  Orphan  School  at  Midway,  Kentucky,  and  for  Bethany  College, 
West  Virginia,  and  the  interest  of  this  might  buy  me  bread  when  I 
could  no  longer  work  for  it.  I  had  a  great  shrinking  from  the  idea  of 
being  dependent  on  others  in  my  old  age.  The  Lord  was  helping  me 
to  provide  for  that  time. 

The  workmen  had  made  litter  and  confusion  about  me,  and  one  holi- 
day, instead  of  joining  a  large  picnic  down  the  harbor,  1  stayed  at  home 
to  do  a  little  domestic  work.  I  was  startled  by  a  loud  knocking  at  the 
door.  When  I  opened  it,  I  was  astonished  to  see  my  poetic  friend, 
smiling  and  bowing,  and  an  elegant  carriage  at  the  gate,  with  his  wife 
and  her  brother  and  his  wife.  My  pride  had  to  bend  to  my  circum- 
stances. I  went  out  and  spoke  to  the  ladies,  and  apologized  for  not 
asking  them  to  alight,  as  the  cottage  was  in  disorder,  and  their  visit  so 
unexpected,  that  I  could  hardly  believe  my  eyes  when  I  saw  the  elegant 
carriage. 

"Oh,"  said  Mr.  B ,  "you  can  not  expect  to  be  buried  alive  any 

longer.  You  are  becoming  known,  and  you  may  expect  visitors  often 
after  this." 

The  road  to  the  ferry  had  been  made  wider,  and  improvements  were 
going  on  all  around,  slowly  but  steadily. 

In  answer  to  a  letter,  I  read  to  my  children  from  the  Harbinger ^ 
they    wished  me  to  write  for  them  to  the  same,  which  I  did. 


THE  NEW  SCHOOL-HOUSE.  469 

LETTER  TO  LITTLE  ONES. 

To  the  dear  little  ones  who  love  to  read  the  "Harbinger,''  at  Bethany ^  Brooke  County, 

West  Virginia,  U.  S.  A. 

My  dear  little  friends :  It  makes  my  heart  happy  to  know  that  you  have  a  kind 
Uncle  Phil,  who  tries  to  write  nice  letters  that  will  please  you.  It  is  very  kind 
of  him,  but  he  is  only  doing  his  duty — doing  what  Jesus  would  have  him  do,  for 
Jesus  loves  little  children  and  wishes  to  make  them  happy.  I  shall  tell  you  of  a 
Sunday-school  we  have  here  in  Australia,  right  opposite  to  where  you  are — only 
the  earth  lies  between  us.  Our  feet  point  to  your  feet,  our  summer  is  your  win- 
ter, and  our  day  your  night.  A  great  many  other  things  beside  the  seasons  are 
contrary  here  to  what  you  have  in  America.  But  it  is  our  Sunday  school  I  wish 
to  write  about  just  now.  «  «  »  Here  is  a  wild-bush  place,  where  you  can 
not  see  the  houses  or  huts  till  you  are  close  to  th^m — the  scrub  is  so  thick — not 
far  from  Sydney,  the  large  wealthy  metropolis  of  ,New  South  Wales.  A  short 
time  ago  a  foot-path  led  winding  up  to  it,  a^nd  strangers  could  not  find  it,  so  out 
of  the  way  and  out  of  sight  was  it;  and  people  who  lived  but  a  few  miles  from 
it  knew  nothing  about  it.  Well,  in  the  huts  which  dotted  this  forest  land  were 
little  children  just  like  you,  only  they  had  no  Uncle  Phils  to  write  to  them,  they 
had  no  school,  no  teacher,  no  meeting-house,  no  minister.  Now  we  have  a  wide 
road  all  the  way  from  the  shore  of  Port  Jackson  to  this  spot;  and  the  first  thing 
you  see,  as  you  come  near  where  the  houses  are,  is  our  large  brick  school-house. 
As  it  is  high  itself,  and  stands  on  high  ground,  it  is  seen  through  the  trees  ere 
you  reach  it.  About  forty  children,  clean  and  neatly  dressed,  attend  Sunday- 
school.  A  superintendent  comes  out  from  Sydney  every  week.  We  have  teach- 
ers from  the  day-school.  (We  have  a  large  day-school.)  These  teachers,  and  the 
scholars,  made  the  superintendent  a  present  of  a  handsome  writing-desk,  well 
filled,  a  short  time  ago.  They  were  puzzled  what  to  buy  for  him  till  I  helped 
them  to  decide.  I  made  the  purchase  for  them,  and  had  a  meeting  one  night 
and  invited  the  superintendent  to  come  out  to  it,  and  the  desk  was,  with  a  very 
pretty  address,  presented  to  him.  And  how  happy  it  made  the  children  to  give 
this  present,  and  he  to  receive  it!     We  were  all  happy  and  pleased. 

When  I  read  to  my  children  about  the  Bethany  children  being  missionaries 

because  they  went  out  and  brought  others  to  school;  how  little  Jamie  D , 

had  brought  the  big  barefooted  boy  to  school,  who  afterward  became  a 
preacher,  they  were  puzzled,  for  we  had  no  Jamie  D at  our  school.  I  ex- 
plained that  the  Bethany  School  of  which  I  spoke  was  in  America,  and  that  I 
had  named  our  school  after  it.  They  were  delighted  with  the  Bethany  children, 
and  all  promised  to  follow  their  example.  Now,  my  dear  children,  go  on  to  do 
good,  and  be  good,  for  your  example  may  be  felt  in  this  faraway  place.  Fare- 
well!    God  bless  you  all,  prays  the  children's  friend,  E.  D. 

Bethany  School,  North  .Sydney,  New  South  Wales,  iSth  Sept.,  186$. 

I  received  the  following  letter  from  America : 

Bethany,  West  Virginia,  /jt/i  Januaty,  1866. 
My  dear  Sister  Davies:  Yours  of  l8th  September  arrived  here  safely,  with  a 
draft  for  £ ,  which  I  credit  to  you,  and  all  business  items  in  your  letter  shall 


47©  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

be  duly  attended  to.  I  thank  you  for  your  very  kind  interest  in  our  affairs.  I 
recognize  in  your  co-operation  the  sisterly  spirit  of  our  holy  religion.  I  have 
watched  with  kindest  sympathy  your  noble  struggle  in  behalf  of  the  Master's 
cause  in  your  far-off  home.  Our  young  bodies  will  be  pleased  at  your  affectionate 
interest  in  their  welfare.  You  will  have  seen  it  in  the  Harbinger  ere  this  reaches 
you.     *     *     *     All  well  and  send  love  to  you.  Very  truly  yours, 

W.  K.  Pendleton. 

I  must  here  record  a  pleasing  incident  that  occurred  about  this  time. 
A  young  Avoman,  who  had  been  a  night  scholar  formerly,  had  come 
to  spend  a  day  with  me,  and  to  ask  that  I  take  her  into  the  day 
school;  she  wanted  more  instruction.  I  was  ready  and  willing  to  for- 
ward her  interests  in  every  way  possible.  This  day  I  happened  to  have 
no  bread.  I  sent  to  some  of  the  houses  to  buy  or  borrow  a  loaf,  but 
no  one  could  spare  any;  it  was  the  first  time  I  had  ever  asked  for 
bread  from  the  people.  Well,  we  made  up  our  minds  to  do  without 
bread  for  that  time.  Just  then  four  or  five  pupils,  who  had  come  from 
a  long  distance,  bringing  their  lunch  with  them,  presented  themselves 
at  the  door,  each  with  a  piece  of  bread  in  their  hand,  saying, 

"Please,  ma'am,  here  is  some  bread." 

They  knew  I  could  not  get  bread,  and  they  offered  me  part  of  their 
own  dinners.  I  told  them  that  I  could  not  think  of  taking  their  lunch 
from  them,  but  I  thanked  them  for  their  kindness. 

"We  want  no  more." 

It  was  evident  that  to  refuse  these  children's  voluntary  gift  would 
hurt  their  feelings.  I  have  great  respect  for  children's  feehngs;  so  I 
gratified  their  generous  impulse  by  accepting  the  bread,  and  so  was 
fed  by  the  crumbs  left  from  a  few  wild  bush  children's  lunch.  I  never 
partook  of  a  richer  repast.  It  was  seasoned  with  the  reflection  that 
these  formerly  bad  children  were  receiving  good  seed  into  good  and 
honest  hearts.  The  weeds  were  being  rooted  out,  and  I  was  pleased  to 
see  the  unexpected  kindness  shown. 

I  had  employed  some  men  in  the  neighborhood  to  build  two  frame 
rooms  to  the  cottage,  and  finish  fencing,  and  do  up  all  the  jobs  that 
were  now  to  be  done  on  the  property  that  was  all  their  own.  I  paid 
them  well  for  all  they  did,  and  I  took  receipts  from  them  for  all  the 
money  paid  them.  They  told  me  I  was  too  particular;  that  I  need 
not  take  receipts  from  them.  I  thought  differently;  I  did  not  like  to 
trust  them.  I  owed  the  timber  merchants  a  little  money,  but  they 
were  willing  to  wait  till  the  end  of  the  year.  This  was  November, 
and   I   planned   for   a   grand  tea   party,  at  which   all   who   had   an 


THE  NEW  SCHOOL-HOUSE,  47 1 

interest  in  the  improvement  of  the  place,  should  be  present,  if  pos- 
sible. The  school  children,  I  intended,  should  have  a  Christmas 
tree.  Such  a  thing  they  had  never  heard  of  before,  nor  did  I  tell  them 
fully  what  it  meant;  but  I  thought  to  make  it  a  pleasant  tree  to  them, 
and  as  I  had  but  little  spare  time  from  my  school  duties  to  devote  to 
preparation,  I  began  in  time.  I  set  men  to  build  an  arbor  60  x  20 
feet  near  the  school-room.  The  frame  work  was  strongly  built  of  young 
sapplings,  ready  for  wattling  when  we  were  ready  to  use  it.  There 
were  eight  huge  gum  trees  (Eucalypti)  in  the  grounds,  that  formed  a 
perfect  octagon  of  considerable  dimensions.  I  had  the  underbrush 
cleared  away,  and  a  hole  dug  in  the  center,  wherein  to  transplant  a 
cedar  tree  at  the  proper  time.  I  purposed  issuing  tickets  to  defray  the 
expenses,  and  pay  off  what  debt  was  yet  due.  My  accounts  should 
be  audited,  no  debts  should  hang  over  the  property,  and  I  should 
render  an  account  of  my  stewardship  to  the  public,  who  had  so  gener- 
ously helped  me  with  money  for  the  work.  I  meant  that  this  party 
should  be  larger  and  grander  than  any  before,  as  the  building  was 
now  finished.  I  was  also  very  busy  with  my  annual  returns,  and  filling 
up  abstracts  and  records  for  government.  I  was  busy  night  and  day; 
but  I  was  looking  forward  to  another  year,  if  all  went  well,  to  have  less 
hard  work  to  do,  and  to  enjoy  more  bodily  comfort.  Well,  I  was  busy 
writing,  all  my  papers  and  books  spread  out  before  me,  one  evening, 
when  unexpectedly  the  door  was  thrown  open,  and  in  stalked  and 
rolled  a  number  of  men  half-intoxicated.  I  was  astonished  at  the  in- 
trusion.    I  asked  what  was  their  business.     They  answered : 

"Your  business  is  to  leave  the  room,  and  we  will  attend  to  ours  when 
you  are  gone." 

I  said  I  was  very  busy  on  important  government  documents,  and 
this  is  the  only  place  I  can  write  at.  Smith,  who  was  skulking  behind 
some  of  the  drunken  fellows,  whispered, 

"Put  her  out." 

When  I  saw  and  heard  Smith,  I  feared  some  personal  violence.  I 
shut  my  books,  folded  my  papers,  and  prepared  to  leave  the  room.  I 
said  I  hoped  they  would  not  interrupt  me  any  more  in  my  work,  as  it 
must  be  attended  to.  I  was  told  that  the  trustees  had  given  them  per- 
mission to  hold  their  meetings  here,  and  they  intended  to  hold  them. 
My  work  was  nothing  to  them.  I  told  them  my  work  was  to  build  up 
the  house  to  teach  their  children  in,  and  if  it  were  nothing  to  them,  I 
hoped  they  would  not  attempt  to  make  use  of  it  again.  I  then  left  the 
room.     This  was  a  new  annoyance  got  up  by  Smith.     I  left  my  lamp 


472  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

with  them,  and  had  to  sit  in  the  dark  all  the  time  listening  to  their  loud, 
boisterous  talk.  I  wondered  why  Smith  was  allowed  to  annoy  me  so 
much.  At  last  they  left,  and  if  a  herd  of  swine  had  been  turned  into 
my  clean,  well-appointed  room,  it  could  not  have  been  left  in  a  more 
filthy  state.  This  annoyance  they  repeated  on  every  trifling  occasion. 
There  was  a  friend  of  Smith's,  a  seamstress,  who  lived  a  few  miles  from 
the  school,  who,  like  Smith,  affected  Episcopalianism.  She,  unauthor- 
ized, invited  Mr.  C ,  the  curate  of  St.  Thomas  and  the  choir  to 

come  up  and  practice  in  the  school-room  one  evening,  for  the  enter- 
tainment of  the  people  of  North  Sydney.     This  suited  Mr.  C ;  he 

thought  it  a  step  in  the  right  direction  to  get  a  firm  hold  on  the  prop- 
erty. As  usual,  I  was  at  my  writing,  busy  as  a  bee,  when  I  was  sud- 
denly and  unexpectedly  interrupted  by  a  number  of  strangers  walking 
in  and  sitting  down.  I  was  wholly  unprepared  for  such  an  intrusion, 
and  ignorant  of  its  cause.  When  I  saw  Smith  and  company,  I  shut 
my  books,  and  put  up  my  papers.     The  unceremonious  way  in  which 

Mr   C treated  me,  caused  me  to  take  a  back  seat  in  my  own 

school-room.  Not  one  of  those,  who  had  taken  possession  of  it  that 
night,  had  paid  one  shilling  toward  building  it.     As  I  did  not  know 

the  programme,  I  watched  the  proceedings.     Mrs.  O played  the 

hostess  to  perfection.  She  asked  me  where  the  candles  were.  I  had 
none  of  course.     I  told  her  if  she  brought  no  candles  for  her  own  use, 

she  might  use  my  lamp;    it  was  all   I  had.     Mr.  C conducted 

some  anthems,  which  sounded  very  sweetly.     On  the  party  leaving, 

I  told  Mr   C ,  if  he  at  any  time  wished  to  bring  a  party  of  his 

friends  to  practice  music  in  my  school-room,  if  he  would  only  be  so 
kind  as  to  let  me  know  beforehand,  I  could  prepare  for  them,  and 
make  them  welcome;  then  they  would  not  interrupt  my  very  important 
government  work. 

"Did  you  not  know  we  were  coming?" 
"I  did  not;  nor  did  I  know  your  object  in  coming." 
There  was  a  deep  undercurrent  running  beneath  all  these  ruffling, 
disturbing  annoyances,  but  I  could  not  reach  it.  I  was  troubled  at 
the  many  interruptions  that  I  had  in  the  midst  of  important  calcula- 
tions. I  never  had  made  any  mistakes,  but  I  feared  that  I  might 
make  them ;  my  head  was  strangely  confused  after  any  unusual  an- 
noyance, and  I  dreaded  to  send  an  incorrect  document  to  the  educa- 
tion office.  A  thought  occurred  to  me,  and  one  morning  I  carried  the 
deeds  of  the  property  and  asked  Mr.  Wilkins  if  he  pleased  to  read 
them  and  tell  me  if  the  trustees  could  construe  any  sentence  into 


THE  NEW  SCHOOL-HOUSE. 


473 


power  given  to  them  to  convey  the  school  property  over  to  the  Church 
of  England. 

"They  could  not  convey  away  the  property  of  the  people,"  he  said. 
I  told  him  of  the  many  interruptions  I  had  had  lately  when  making 
up  my  returns,  and  I  feared  to  make  mistakes.  I  recrossed  the  ferry ; 
I  called  at  the  rectory,  and  asked  for  the  rector.  I  handed  him  the 
deeds  and  asked  him  to  please  read  them,  which  he  did.  I  told  him 
that  he  knew  the  character  of  the  people  by  whom  I  was  surrounded j 
a  great  many  v.ere  opposed  to  reform,  and  were  my  enemies ;  for 
whilst  I  remained  amongst  them  their  craft  was  in  danger,  and  they 
would  compass  sea  and  land  if  it  were  possible  to  remove  me ;  and 
they  think  they  have  one  way  of  doing  it,  viz.:  to  convey  the  property 
over  to  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  get  a  teacher  of  that  church  in  my 
place.  In  the  first  place,  they  have  not  the  power  to  convey  away 
the  property  from  the  people,  as  you  see  by  the  wording  of  the  deeds. 

When  Mr.  L gave  me  the  land  to  build  a  school-house  on,  he 

said  positively  that  the  church  should  not  have  it.  Now  on  that  land 
I  have  built  a  school-house  for  all  the  people's  children,  far  and  near, 
of  every  denomination,  and  now  that  my  work  is  nearly  done,  I  am 
sorry  to  see  your  curate  standing  on  the  side  of  drunkards,  liars  and 
thieves,  to  deprive  me  of  the  labor  of  my  hands.  Now,  if  your  curate 
had  the  interest  of  the  people  at  heart,  he  would  come  up  and  preach 
for  them  on  Sundays,  or  lecture  on  week  days,  in  connection  with  the 
bush  missionaries.  I  would  co-operate  with  him  and  bid  him  welcome. 
"If  a  trustee  were  to  die  or  move  away,  could  you  not  appoint  in 
his  place  the  rector  of  St.  Thomas?  I  do  not  mean  myself  only,  but 
any  rector  who  may  succeed  me  on  and  on?"  said  the  rector. 

"Do  you  remember,  Mr.  C ,  that  when  I  asked  you  to  give  me 

a  little  money  toward  my  building  fund,  that  you  feared  to  give  lest 
any  one  seeing  your  name  might  give,  thinking  it  was  to  be  an  Epis- 
copal school,  and  to  prevent  such  a  mistake  you  wrote  with  your  own 
hand  that  the  church  Jiad  nothing  to  do  with  it?  You  prevented  many 
from  giving.  Now,  those  who  did  give,  I  impressed  on  their  mind 
that  it  was  not  a  church  but  a  public  school.  I  shall  not  consent  to  a 
rector  becoming  a  trustee.  I  shall  not  turn  traitor  to  those  who  gave 
me  money  for  a  public  school;  I  should  greatly  prefer  the  Board  of 
National  PLducation.  It  has  an  interest  in  the  ignorant,  stupid  people. 
While  I  am  working  for  them,  it  supports  me  with  a  liberal  salary, 
sympathy  and  enrouragement.  The  gentlemen  who  comjjose  it  arc  my 
true  friends;  individually,  they  have  helped  liberally  toward  the  build- 


474  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

ing,  and  they  have  never  hinted  that  they  wished  to  possess  the  prop- 
erly or  to  control  it." 

The  rector  and  I  parted  good  friends,  but  we  understood  each  other. 

That  morning  when  going  down  to  the  ferry  my  heart  was  full  of 
troubled  thought,  and  I  was  very  light-headed  going  home.  I  felt 
lighter-hearted,  but  I  had  a  strange  feeling  about  me.  I  had  a  pain 
ni  my  side  for  some  time,  and  that  morning  I  was  crossing  a  gully  on 
a  narrow  plank-bridge,  when  all  at  once  I  became  almost  unconscious. 
I  stood  still;  I  feared  to  move,  lest  I  should  fall  over  the  bridge. 
How  long  I  stood  I  did  not  know,  but  when  I  rallied  I  thought  I 
would  consult  Dr.  Ward  and  ask  what  ailed  me.  My  heart  and  lungs 
were  pronounced  sound,  but  he  said  I  was  overworked;  that  my  head 
could  not  stand  much  more  work.  I  told  him  worry  hurt  me  more 
than  work.  He  prescribed  for  me.  My  long  walk  and  my  exciting 
conversations  on  that  day  made  me  feel  on  Sunday  that  my  heart  was 
very  tired  and  my  strength  was  very  low.  On  Monday  morning  my 
frugal  breakfast  sat  on  the  table  untouched,  while  I  sat  shivering  over 
the  fire,  though  the  morning  was  exceedingly  hot.  I  roused  myself 
as  school-time  drew  on.  I  attended  to  my  duties  with  a  sick  and  sink- 
ing frame.  I  had  to  sit  down  several  times  to  keep  from  falling.  My 
head  was  very  strangely  affected.  I  struggled  on  through  that  day  of 
toil.  I  dismissed  school,  and  would  have  gone  to  see  the  doctor,  but 
I  feared  my  strength  could  not  sustain  a  twelve  miles'  walk  ere  dark- 
ness set  in.  Many  a  mental  exclamation  went  up  from  my  poor  sick 
soul  that  night.  Good  Father,  what  does  this  sinking,  deathly  faint- 
ness  mean?  Gracious  God,  what  is  coming  over  me?  Dear  Savior, 
what  is  this  that  blinds  me  quite?  What  shall  I  do?  What  shall  I  do? 
The  mirror  after  a  sleepless  night  reflected  a  careworn,  haggard,  weary 
pale  face,  with  a  small  crimson  spot  in  front  of  the  right  ear.  I  sat 
down  in  a  perfect  agony.  Then,  without  breaking  my  fast,  I  started 
off  on  a  long  walk  to  see  the  doctor.  I  saw  a  man  on  the  road  with 
a  cart  of  green  vegetables.  I  asked  him  to  give  me  a  seat  as  far  as 
St.  Leonard's,  for  I  could  not  walk.  He  said  I  would  get  wet,  but  I 
did  not  mind  that;  he  helped  me  up,  but  the  rough  jolting  hurt  my 
head  dreadfully.     When  I  saw  the  doctor,  he  said : 

"You  are  ill." 

I  pointed  to  the  red  spot  on  my  cheek,  and  asked  if  that  was  erysipe- 
las? 

"Yes,  of  the  worst  kind,"  said  he. 

I  covered  my  face  with  my  hands,  and  sank  down  on  a  chair,  and 


THE  NEW  SCHOOL-HOUSE.  475 

mentally  exclaimed,  I  must  die.      I  raised  myself  up  with  a  great 
effort,  and  said : 

"Doctor,  I  am  not  afraid  to  die,  but  I  do  not  wish  to  die  just  now. 
I  have  some  work  unfinished;  help  me  to  live  if  you  can,  doctor,  till  I 
finish  it." 

"None  of  us  wish  to  die,  and  your  wish  to  live  is  perfectly  natural. 
I  will  do  all  I  can  for  you.  First,  here  is  a  prescription  for  you ;  get 
it  filled.  Then  you  must  have  the  strongest  beef  tea,  chicken  broth 
and  Port  wine." 

"Stop,  doctor,  and  tell  me  what  I  can  do  without,  rather  than  what 
I  need,  for  I  can  get  nothing  where  I  am,  and  I  am  not  able  to  carry 
it." 

"Get  some  beef  now,  and  go  to  bed  as  soon  as  you  get  home,  for 
you  are  very  ill." 

"I  am  not  able  to  go  to  bed,  I  have  so  much  to  do,  and  my  duties 
are  imperative." 

"Nonsense;  you  can't  work." 

"Then  I  must  die,  and  m  the  harness." 

"It  is  as  much  as  your  life  is  worth  to  teach  to-day." 

I  bought  a  pound  of  beef  at  the  butcher's,  and  went  to  the  drug- 
store to  get  my  medicine,  and  while  waiting  I  had  to  He  over  on  the 
counter  to  save  myself  from  falling ;  I  was  so  deathly  faint.  I  asked 
if  there  was  a  vehicle  of  any  kind  in  the  place  that  I  could  hire  to 
take  me  home ;  for  I  could  not  walk.  They  knew  of  none.  When  I 
got  to  the  street  I  became  nearly  blind  and  staggered.  I  took  hold  of 
something  to  steady  me. 

"O  merciful  Father,"  I  cried,  "help  me  to  reach  home." 

Six  miles  of  a  rough,  up-hill  road  lay  before  me,  and  I  could  hardly 
stand,  and  the  little  I  had  to  carry  seemed  an  intolerable  load.  The 
sun  waspouring  down  his  scorching  beams,  but  I  must  get  home. 
Home,^t  where  kindred  and  loved  ones  awaited  me,  but  to  my  lodge 
in  the  lone  wilderness.  I  saw  a  hack  and  asked  the  man  to  take  me 
home  and  I  should  pay  him  a  good  fare;  for  I  was  too  sick  to  walk. 
He  drove  me  part  of  the  way,  and  when  he  put  me  down  I  staggered 
to  the  side  of  tfie  road  and  leaned  against  a  rock. 

"O  merciful  Father,"  I  cried,  "help  me  home  or  I  shall  die  on  the 
road." 

I  had  to  sit  down  every  few  yards.  Oh,  who  but  God  knew  the 
anguish  of  mind  and  body  that  I  suffered  in  that  fearful  walk  ?  When 
I  reached  the  school-house  I  went  in  and  sat  down,  and  leaned  my 


476  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

head  on  the  table  till  all  the  children  filed  in  and  took  their  seats;  I 
then  raised  my  head  and  told  them  I  was  too  sick  to  teach  them,  and 
for  them  to  leave  as  (piietly  as  possible,  for  every  footfall  sounded  like 
thunder  through  my  brain.  They  tiptoed  out,  shut  the  door,  and  I 
was  left  alone  with  my  deathly  sickness.  I  could  not  lock  the  door 
nor  carry  my  meat  and  medicine  from  the  school-room  table.  All  I 
could  do  was  to  crawl  to  my  bed  and  lie  down,  clothes  and  all.  I 
could  give  the  children  no  instructions  when  they  left.  I  could  not  pre- 
pare the  beef  tea;  I  could  not  lift  my  head  to  pour  out  my  medicine, 
and  there  I  lay  a  helpless  sufferer  till  evening,  when  a  woman,  who, 
among  the  low  class  of  women,  had  fallen  below  their  level,  came  into 
my  room,  looked  at  me,  and  went  out  without  trying  to  help  me  in 
any  way.  I  thought  the  next  who  came  might  find  me  dead.  One 
of  my  pupils  came  to  see  me ;  I  asked  her  to  make  a  fire  and  prepare 
the  beef  tea  for  me,  and  help  me  undress;  I  could  not  hold  up  my 
head.  This  she  did,  but  had  to  get  home  before  dark,  as  she  feared 
going  through  the  forest.  The  people  who  were  well  disposed  had 
not  heard  me  complain,  and  from  what  the  children  said  they  did  not 
think  I  was  so  ill.  Another  night  of  excruciating  agony  passed  with- 
out food  or  medicine.  A  woman  came  to  see  what  was  the  matter.  I 
begged  her  to  get  some  one  to  go  for  the  doctor.  Hours  passed  before 
any  one  could  be  found  to  go  for  him,  and  hours  passed  ere  he  could 
come.  When  he  did  come  and  caught  a  glimpse  of  me,  he  pressed 
through  a  crowd  of  men  and  women  who  were  standing  in  my  bed- 
room. He  ordered  them  all  out.  What  had  they  to  do  in  a  lady's 
bedroom,  filling  it  with  impure  odors  from  their  dirty  clothes  and 
offensive  breath?     He  rushed  to  my  side,  and  said: 

"This  will  never  do;  you  are  very  ill." 

Just  then  several  people  came  tramping  into  the  school-room. 

"What  do  these  people  want  in  there?"  said  he. 

"Prayer-meeting,"  I  said.  " 

"Devil  take  their  prayer-meeting,"  said  the  doctor. 

How  profane  I  thought  him.  He  went  to  the  people,  and  I  heard 
him  say  that  their  prayers  were  all  an  offense  to  God  while  they  al- 
lowed the  lady,  who  had  sacrificed  her  life  in  their  service,  to  lie  and 
die  in  their  midst.  They  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  themselves  for 
such  cruel  ingratitude.  Now  you  can  have  no  prayers  for  the  present; 
we  want  a  little  practice.  Some  of  you  find  a  chicken  and  have  it  boiled 
to  jelly.  He  went  into  the  kitchen  with  one  of  the  women,  and  there 
found  my  Monday  morning's  untasted  breakfast,  and  the  beef  on  the 


THE  NEW  SCHOOL-HOUSE.  477 

fireplace  that  had  been  put  on  the  day  before.  When  the  doctor  had 
cleared  the  house  and  given  instructions  about  procuring  a  nurse  for 
me,  etc.,  he  sat  down  beside  me,  and  said: 

"You  are  very  ill  indeed.  I  ordered  you  wine  yesterday,  but  you 
would  not  take  it.     I  now  order  you  brandy." 

I  demurred;  I  thought  the  brandy  would  kill  me. 

"It  is  the  only  chance  for  your  life,  and  it  may  be  too  late  to  save 
you.     Twenty-four  hours  and  your  case  will  be  decided,"  he  said. 

I  consented  to  do  as  he  said,  and  I  thanked  him  for  telling  me  the  worst. 
I  did  not  turn  my  face  to  the  wall,  but  I  turned  my  thoughts  to  my  great 
Creator.  I  was  nearly  blind;  I  could  hardly  see  the  doctor,  though  he 
sat  near  me.  I  felt  as  if  my  mind  was  wandering,  and  before  it  left  me 
entirely,  I  had  tried  to  set  my  house  in  order,  for  "the  sorrows  of 
death  compassed  me,  and  the  floods  of  ungodly  men  made  me  afraid." 
In  my  distress  I  thought  of  Hezekiah,  who  was  sick  unto  death,  when 
he  wept  and  prayed,  and  the  Lord  added  fifteen  years  to  his  life.  I 
could  not  move.  I  was  blind;  I  could  not  weep;  but  I  told  the  Lord 
that  just  then  I  was  afraid  to  die  because  of  the  wicked  men  around 
me,  who  might  destroy  my  unaudited  accounts  and  send  in  bills  that 
had  been  paid,  and  Christianity  might  suffer  through  me,  because  the 
treasury  was  empty.  "Gracious  God,  let  me  live,  not  fifteen  years  or 
months,  but  just  to  finish  my  accounts,  that  the  cause  of  my  Master 
may  not  suffer  at  my  hands;  or,  if  it  be  thy  will  that  I  must  die,  take 
away  the  fear  of  man  from  me,  and  make  me  to  feel  that  thou  art  able  to 
take  care  of  thy  own  work  without  me."  The  Lord  heard  my  voice 
out  of  his  temple;  my  cry  entered  his  ears.  I  was  not  now  afraid 
of  what  man  could  do.  With  this  feeling  in  my  heart,  I  became  un- 
conscious for  five  days;  I  knew  no  one,  and  was  quite  blind. 

It  was  singular  that  there  was  one  woman,  who,  whenever  she  came 
near  me,  caused  me  to  feel  a  thrill  of  pain  pass  through  me,  whether 
she  spoke  or  was  silent.  The  nurse  told  this  to  the  doctor,  and  he 
forbade  the  woman  to  come  near  me.  This  gave  the  woman  offense 
and  one  day  she  came  into  the  room  when  I  was  alone  and  touched 
me.  I  gave  a  scream  that  brought  the  nurse.  I  could  not  tell  what 
ailed  me,  but  the  woman  being  in  the  room  accounted  for  the  scream. 

While  in  this  unconscious  state  I  had  a  dream,  or  vision,  of  a  sin- 
gular nature.  I  thought  my  spirit  was  outside  of  my  body,  and  both 
were  going  up  a  high  and  rugged  mountain  side,  my  body  going  be- 
fore, and  my  wondering  spirit  could  not  tell  how  the  body  climbed 
the  steep   so  nimbly,  and  without  an  effort.     When  we  reached  the 


478  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

top  my  spirit  entered  my  body,  and  we  sat  down  to  contemplate  the 
scene.  Above  and  around  there  was  a  light  brighter  than  the  sun ; 
but  neither  sun,  moon  nor  stars  bedecked  the  heavens.  No  floating, 
fleecy  clouds  curtained  the  sky;  no  bird  or  busy  insect  flew  in  mid- 
air, or  chirped  in  the  trees — 

"On  mountain  or  in  glen, 

Nor  tree,  nor  shrub,  nor  plant,  nor  flower, 
Nor  ought  of  vegetation  power, 
The  weary  eye  could  ken." 

Trackless  mountains,  rocky  glens,  broken  boulders  and  sand,  be- 
strewed the  plains  and  the  dismal,  sandy  seashore.  Neither  man  nor 
beast,  nor  any  creeping  thing,  was  astir  in  this  vast,  stony  wilderness. 
No  lowing  of  cattle  or  bleating  of  sheep  was  heard.  A  vast  ocean 
stretched  out  in  the  distance,  but  it  lay  motionless  and  still;  not  a 
breath  of  air  rippled  its  glassy  surface,  and  all  the  finny  tribe  were  dead, 
if  any  ever  existed.  How  terrible  to  sit  on  the  apex  of  a  mountain 
contemplating  this  lifeless,  soulless  world.  If  this  be  solitude,  I  thought, 
it  has  no  charms. 

On  the  ninth  morning  from  the  time  I  took  ill  I  opened  my  eyes  a 
little.     I  thought  I  saw  the  doctor  at  my  door,  and  I  whispered, 

"Doctor!"  and  he  answered,  in  a  cheery  voice, 

"You  are  better." 

0  no,  I  am  no  better;  last  night  I  was  worse  than  ever,  and  the 
people  said  I  was  mad,  and  they  ran  after  me  to  put  me  in  the  mad- 
house; but  I  ran  away  from  them." 

"They  will  not  put  you  there  now,"  he  said. 

1  asked  where  I  was,  and  where  I  had  been,  for  I  could  not  think. 
"Lie  still,  and  do  not  talk  or  think,  but  get  well  as  fast  as  you  can." 
When  the  doctor  ceased  speaking  complete  consciousness  returned. 

I  believed  God  had  heard  my  prayer  and  had  given  me  back  my  life. 
My  last  feeling  before  I  became  unconscious  was  gratitude  to  God  for 
taking  away  the  fear  of  man  from  my  heart.  My  first  feeling  on  re- 
turning to  consciousness  was  gratitude  to  him  for  adding  to  my  days. 
How  happy  I  felt  that  God  Avas  my  father.  In  eight  days  from  the 
time  I  opened  my  eyes  and  became  conscious  I  was  at  work  in  my 
school-room,  very  weak,  but  thankful  to  be  on  my  feet  once  more. 
The  first  thing  I  did  was  to  see  and  pay  the  good  doctor,  who  had 
been  so  kind  and  tender  and  attentive  to  me,  walking  twelve  miles 
every  day  to  see  me.     I  was  afraid  the  p^2o,  or  $ioo,  that  I  had 


THE  NEW  SCHOOL-HOUSE.  479 

would  not  pay  him,  but  I  could  pa}'  him  in  another  month.  When 
the  doctor  saw  me  sitting  so  tired-looking,  he  began  to  scold  me  for 
coming  to  him.  Why  not  send  for  him  if  I  was  ill  ?  I  would  be  laid 
up  agam.  I  told  him  I  was  well,  only  tired,  and  I  had  come  to  pay 
him.  and  asked  for  his  bill. 

"I  have  been  paid,"  said  the  doctor  quickly. 

"By  whom,"  I  asked,  for  no  one  had  any  right  to  pay  my  bill,  and 
I  feared  the  doctor  had  sent  in  his  bill  to  government  to  be  deducted 
from  my  salary.  This  thought  gave  me  pain.  The  doctor  saw  the 
pained  expression,  and  said: 

"I  shall  relieve  you  by  telling  you  that  I  am  paid  by  seeing  you  up 
again,  and  besides,  I  make  it  a  rule  in  my  practice  never  to  charge  a 
minister  or  a  missionary  for  my  services." 

"But,  doctor,  I  am  neither." 

"What?  I  can  prove  that  you  are  both;  and  in  your  mission  min- 
istering to  the  wants  of  people,  both  physically,  mentally  and  morally, 
till  your  life  was  all  but  sacrificed.  No,  no;  I  take  no  money  from 
you  for  anything  I  have  done  or  may  do.  Never  hesitate  to  come  to 
me  or  send  for  me,  and  I  shall  do  all  I  can  for  you  if  you  are  sick." 

His  kindness  overwhelmed  me. 

Only  two  weeks  till  Christmas,  and  I  was  a  bankrupt  in  physical 
strength.  Only  two  Saturdays  to  prepare  for  my  grand  rural  enter- 
tainment. I  had  no  material  nor  money  to  buy  it,  and  could  not 
begin  to  prepare  until  I  had  the  wherewithal  to  prepare.  This  was 
more  than  enough  work,  but  it  was  not  the  worst  that  I  had  to  contend 

with.     While  I  was  sick  in  bed  Smith,  O &  Co.  had  been  issuing 

tickets  for  a  picnic  in  the  woods  around  O 's  house.    Many  bought 

tickets  thinking  it  was  in  the  interest  of  the  school,  but  its  object  was 
to  defeat  my  having  a  party  at  the  school-house.  Smith  &  Co.  deter- 
mined that  it  should  be  a  failure,  and  oh,  how  much  depended  on  its 
being  a  success.     I  was  afraid  to  think  of  failure. 

Those  who  have  family  relatives  can  take  sweet  counsel  togetlier, 
can  talk  over  their  difficulties,  suggest  means  to  overcome  them,  and 
thus  help  one  another.  I  had  no  such  help;  I  sat  alone,  witli  aching 
heart  and  throbbing  brow.  I  went  to  Him  who  had  ever  been  a  i)rcs- 
ent  help  in  time  of  trouble. 

I  had  become   acquainted  with  nearly  all   the  ladies  on   the  north 

shore.     I  wended  my  feeble  steps  to  Mrs.  W 's  house.     I  told  her 

what  I  had  intended  to  do,  and  without  help  I  could  not  do  it  now, 
and  I  would  have  to  depend  on  my  lady  friends  to  get  up  the  children's 


480  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

Christmas-tree ;  it  depended  on  them  whether  my  party  would  be  a 
success  or  a  failure.  She  promised  abundant  help.  I  told  her  that 
alone  in  my  weakness  I  could  not  cope  with  the  current  that  was 
against  me  at  present;  I  had  not  the  strength  or  time,  and  the  whole 
future  of  the  school  depended  greatly  on  this  being  a  success.  Two 
ladies  present  cried  out, 

"What  shall  we  do  to  help  you;  we  are  able  and  willing?" 

"Then  choose  for  yourselves  what  you  can  give  and  make  for  my 
school  children." 

I  saw  a  few  other  enthusiastic  ladies,  who  had  heard  through  the 
doctor  of  my  illness.  They  all  said  they  would  help,  and,  to  save  me 
so  much  walking,  they  would  communicate  with  others,  and  to  rest 
assured  that  the  tree  would  be  a  success.  So  it  gave  me  no  more 
trouble.  I  was  encouraged,  and  I  trudged  on  to  Sydney,  and  had 
tickets  printed.  A  gentleman  gave  me  ten  dollars  for  one;  this  paid 
for  the  printing  and  something  else.  I  was  as  successful  with  the  gen- 
tlemen as  with  the  ladies.  One  gentleman  gave  me  a  bag  of  best  flour, 
224  pounds,  and  ten  dollars  for  a  ticket.  The  price  of  a  ticket,  thirty- 
six  cents.  I  bought  sugar  and  tea,  the  very  best,  at  half  price;  a  grocer 
gave  me  currants  and  raisins ;  another  butter  and  lemon  peel.  I  pro- 
cured everything  that  was  wanted  and  more  for  very  litde  money.  I 
went  and  made  a  bargain  with  the  baker  to  make  bread  and  cakes  of 
different  kinds.  Hams  of  the  best  quality  were  given.  I  went  to  the 
timber  merchant,  and  hired  timber  for  tables  and  benches.  I  hired 
table-ware  at  the  china  store,  and  all  this  had  to  be  carried  seven  miles, 
and  across  the  harbor.  The  building  at  North  Sydney  was  both  more 
difficult  and  expensive,  on  account  of  everything  having  to  be  carried 
so  far.  I  was  dreadfully  tired;  but  I  was  so  encouraged  that  I  cried. 
I  had  everything  in  working  order  now. 

Mr.  Sayers  being  a  ship  owner,  he  had  a  flag-staff  at  his  house.  He 
had  plenty  of  bunting,  and  he  lent  me  a  load  of  flags  of  all  nations  to 
decorate  with.  I  had  the  Union  Jack  floating  over  the  school-house, 
and  the  stars  and  stripes  over  the  arbor.  The  eucalypti  octagon  that 
was  in  the  grounds,  I  had  walled  in  by  these  bright  bunting  flags  with 
fine  effect.  I  had  a  cedar  tree  twelve  or  fourteen  feet  high  planted  in 
the  center,  laden  with  choice  fruit,  more  tempting  than  the  golden 
fruit  of  the  orange  groves,  because  it  was  more  rare.  On  Christmas 
eve  baskets  full  of  dressed  dolls,  children's  dresses,  shoes,  hose,  horses, 
carts,  hammers,  whips,  bats,  balls  and  books,  and  dozens  of  bright  silk 
bags  full  of  candy  were  sent  in.     Such  a  tree  had  never  been  seen  at 


THE  NEW  SCHOOL-HOUSE.  481; 

North  Sydney.  The  long  arbor  was  wattled  and  decked  with  flowers; 
the  school-room  was  festooned  and  garlanded,  and  flags  were  placed 
here  and  there. 

On  the  beautiful  Christmas  morn  our  school-ground  presented  a 
picturesque  appearance.  At  an  early  hour  fine  carriages  were  rolling 
in,  and  equestrians  riding  into  the  inclosure,  and  hitching  their  horses 
under  leafy  canopies.  At  the  appointed  hour  the  children  sat  down  to 
a  rich  repast,  such  as  they  enjoyed  only  once  a  year.  The  ladies  from 
a  distance  waited  on  the  children,  and  when  all  had  eaten  to  satiety, 
they  had  each  a  bundle  of  good  things  to  carry  home.  While  the  ar- 
bor was  being  cleared  of  the  children's  feast,  and  re-prepared  for  the 
strangers,  the  octagon  tent  was  opened,  and  the  scholars  all  sang,  and 
marched  to  the  tent,  and  surrounded  the  tree,  and  wondering  eyes 
looked  at  the  wonderful  fruit.  Every  scholar  received  a  present  and  a 
bag  of  candy.  My  former  night  scholars  were  not  forgotten.  After 
these,  every  child  in  the  village,  who  was  not  at  school,  received  a 
present.  Little  nursing  babies^,  received  clothes  of  various  kinds. 
Smith's  whole  family  had  presents.  Surely  the  children  were  happy 
that  day.  When  the  children  were  dismissed  to  play  in  the  grounds, 
a  feast  of  good  things  and  beautiful  were  spread  in  the  arbor,  and  over 
two  hundred  ladies  and  gentleman,  who  had  come  from  a  distance,  sat 
down,  and  a  merry,  pleasant  time  they  had.  When  this  part  of  the 
programme  was  completed,  we  adjourned  to  the  school-room  to  finish 
the  whole.  Mr.  Sayers  was  voted  to  the  chair,  and  there  were  some 
short  and  stirring  speeches  made.  Mr.  Palmer,  who  had  audited  my 
accounts,  read  them.  They  gave  entire  satisfaction  to  all  those  who 
had  intrusted  me  with  money.  I  was  highly  complimented  in  every 
speech.  Some  gentlemen  came  in  late,  who  had  been  to  the  picnic  in 
the  woods,  thinking  it  was  the  school  party,  as  they  had  been  told. 
They  found  a  sorry  set  of  drunken  men,  with  a  barrel  of  beer  in  their 
midst,  making  themselves  merry  over  it,  and  then  becoming  uproar- 
ious. These  gentlemen,  finding  their  mistake,  left  in  disgust,  and  now 
they  exposed  the  meanness  of  those  who  from  the  first  had  opposed 
reform  in  their  midst.  All  those  who  had  risen  up  against  me  were 
ashamed  and  confounded.  "The  Lord  God  held  up  my  right  hand, 
and  said,  Fear  not,  I  will  help  thee."  Mr.  C ,  the  curate,  was  pres- 
ent, and  others  who  could  have  told  that  I  had  more  powerful  opponents 
than  Smith  and  company.     The  Lord  brought  me  a  great  victory. 

The  two  weeks  hard  work  and  so  great  excitement  completely  pros- 
trated me.     One  of  my  two  weeks  holiday  was  over  and  gone,  and  I 
31 


482  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

was  nearly  gon^  too.  But  the  Board  of  National  Education  kindly  ex- 
tended my  holiday,  and  told  me  they  could  not  afford  to  lose  me,  and 
I  must  take  time  to  recuperate. 

I  took  a  train  to  Richmond,  a  beautiful  town  on  the  river  of  that 
name,  on  the  eastern  slof)e  of  the  Blue  Mountains.  I  spent  a  pleasant 
day  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Forbes,  our  new  inspector.  Here  I  met  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Wilkins,  who  were  spending  the  holidays  here.  I  took  a 
stage-coach,  and  went  further  up  the  mountains,  and  at  a  quaint  little 
inn  at  the  foot  of  the  Kurrajong  Mountain,  I  rested  for  a  week.  I 
rode  to  the  top  of  the  mountain  on  horseback;  was  entertained  at  the 
house  of  an  M.  P.,  who  took  me  over  all  his  beautiful  grounds  and 
gardens,  and  I  had  one  of  the  grandest  inland  views  that  I  ever  had 
in  the  colony.  I  was  greatly  strengthened  by  my  rides  and  the  moun- 
tain breezes.  On  my  return,  I  spent  another  day  very  pleasantly  at 
the  house  of  Mr.  Forbes.  I  came  home  rested  and  refreshed  by  my 
trip,  and  ready  for  another  year's  work. 

In  July,  1866,  I  heard  of  the  deatl»  of  the  greatest  man  of  the  age, 
my  revered  and  honored  friend  Mr.  Campbell.  I  wrote  letters  to 
dear  Mrs.  Campbell,  consoling  and  congratulating  her,  first,  because 
of  the  absence  of  her  great  head,  and  last,  that  she  had  had  the  privi- 
lege to  add  to  his  comfort  and  happiness  while  here.  She  has  been  a 
highly  honored  woman. 

The  Christian  Church  was  planted  at  this  time  in  Victoria  and  South 
Australia.  Brother  Earl,  a  graduate  of  Bethany  College,  an  Evangelist, 
was  sent  for,  and  came  from  England.  He  planted  churches  in  both 
colonies.  Other  Evangelists  had  been  sent  for,  and  the  cause  was 
prospering. 

Brother wrote  to  me : 

Dear  Sister  Davies : — We  have  just  sent  to  Brother  Franklin  to  send  us  another 
Evangelist.  The  Melbourne  brethren  have  sent  for  a  preacher  to  succeed  H.  S. 
Earl,  who  has,  I  suppose,  added  over  three  hundred  to  the  church  in  Victoria. 
We  have  reason  to  be  grateful  to  God,  for  sending  to  this  far-off  land  so  good  a 
servant.     *     *     *     *  Yours  very  sincerely, : 

There  were  now  three  Evangelists  in  the  field  hard  at  work.  I  wrote 
at  that  time  the  following  note  in  my  journal:  I  hope  the  time  is  not 
distant,  when  we  shall  have  one  in  Sydney;  but  it  will  be  a  hard  field 
to  cultivate;  but  all  the  more  need  to  break  up  the  soil. 

In  September,  1866,  I  was  sitting  in  my  room  one  night  reading. 
Silence,  as  deep  as  the  tomb,  reigned  around.    The  day  had  been  very 


THE  NEW  SCHOOL-HOUSE.  4S3 

hot.  Presently  I  thought  I  heard  the  pattering  of  rain  upon  the  shin- 
gles. I  was  glad  to  hear  it;  the  hot  air  would  be  cooled,  the  parched 
earth  moistened.  The  wind  began  to  blow  in  great  gusts.  I  sat  for 
some  time  listening  to  the  strange  noise  the  rain  was  making.  I  fancied 
I  saw  lightning  flash;  I  raised  my  curtain,  and  stood  aghast  at  the  scene 
which  presented  itself  I  shall  not  soon  forget  it.  The  whole  forest 
behind  the  school-house  was  on  fire;  it  was  awfully  grand,  but  terrific. 
The  wind  was  blowing  fiercely  in  my  direction.  My  heart  gave  an  in- 
voluntary throb,  then  seemed  to  stand  still.  The  tall  flames  kissed  the 
clouds,  and  then  made  a  graceful  bend  toward  me,  sending  out  a  shower 
of  fire-drops  all  over  me  and  my  house.  I  feared  the  shingles  would 
ignite.  I  ran  up  and  down  the  road  to  see  if  there  was  any  one  astir, 
who  could  help  to  save  the  house  if  it  took  fire.  No  one  was  near.  I 
walked  up  and  down,  out  and  in  all  night,  keeping  lonely  watch.  It 
was  a  fearful  night,  as  the  fire  raged  and  ran  all  night.  The  wind  went 
down,  and  the  danger  lessened  toward  day.  Every  tree  that  took  fire 
crackled  in  the  midnight  air  like  the  firing  of  musketry.  Every  night  the 
wind  rose,  and  the  fire  blazed,  and  the  trees  crackled,  and  I  kept  lonely 
watch  for  five  nights.  Finally  the  fire  Avent  out.  In  all  these  nights 
I  looked  to  him  who  numbers  the  hairs  of  my  head,  and  looks  after 
the  sparrows.  When  I  asked  for  a  calm  and  strong  heart,  I  was  an- 
.swered,  "as  thy  day,  so  shall  thy  strength  be."  "My  grace  is  suffi- 
cient for  you."     I  asked  for  strength,  and  I  received  it. 

When  I  look  at  trees  standing  alone  in  isolated  places,  they  are 
strong;  every  blast  that  blows  makes  them  strike  deeper  into  the 
ground;  they  grow  rigid  and  hard. 

I  prayed  for  strength  in  my  isolation  amid  the  furious  storms  of 
human  passions,  but  not  for  hardness  or  rigidity.  Trees  are  almost 
like  human  beings  in  their  sociability;  they  grow  in  companies;  they 
grow  flexible  and  considerate  of  each  other.  When  crowded  into 
narrow  space,  they  stretch  out  their  hands  toward  each  other  as  if  n 
tenderness  and  salutation.     I  stood  alone. 

I  began,  with  the  help  of  my  boys,  to  improve  the  grounds.  I  had 
a  space  for  a  flower  garden  marked  off,  a  little  summer-house  built, 
and  flowers  and  vines  of  almost  every  hue  and  class  planted  and 
growing  beautifully.  A  great  unsightly  mound  of  red  clay  and  iron- 
stone surrounded  my  well,  and  the  windlass  stood  in  the  midst  of  it 
like  a  gallows.  I  laid  a  row  of  bricks  around  the  edge  of  the  mound, 
and  had  it  covered  with  a  thick  layer  of  rich  earth  from  the  rotten 
trees,  and  planted  crimson  verbenas  and  tall  gladioluses  to  conceal  the 


484  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

windlass.  I  had  dien  a  diing  of  beauty  to  look  at  every  time  I  opened 
my  back  door.  The  aroma  from  the  sweet  peas,  the  honeysuckles 
and  the  moss  roses  delighted  the  senses.  I  planted  peach-trees,  nec- 
tarine, fig,  orange  and  apple-trees.  Passion  fruit  was  growing  over 
my  little  arbor,  which  was  built  around  a  great  gum-tree,  whose  fra- 
grant bunches  of  beautiful  flowers  reached  the  roof  of  the  arbor.  I 
had  time  to  beautify  and  ornament  the  premises.  My  spare  hours 
were  not  all  taken  up  with  my  long  walks  now.  Everywhere  round 
about  improvements  were  going  on;  roads  were  surveyed  and  cleared, 
and  little  bridges  over  gullies  were  built.  I  had  still  to  go  to  Sydney 
for  my  provisions,  but  on  my  return  home  I  could  now  hire  a  hack  to 
carry  me  home. 

I  was  in  Sydney  on  one  occasion  when  a  fearful  rain-storm  deluged 
the  town.  The  streets  were  like  wide  rushing  rivers;  the  store-floors 
under  water,  and  the  cellars  filled.  I  stayed  till  Sunday  afternoon, 
thinking  the  rain  would  moderate,  but  it  did  not,  and  I  thought  I  must 
get  home,  rain  or  shine,  ready  for  work  Monday  morning.  I  crossed 
the  ferry,  and  took  a  hack  for  North  Sydney.  The  rain  did  not  fall 
in  drops,  but  seemed  to  fall  in  sheets.  Though  under  curtains  I  was 
saturated.  We  drove  till  we  came  to  the  great  Flat  Rock.  This  was 
just  what  its  name  indicated,  honeycombed  with  great  holes  always 
full  of  water  in  dry  weather.  I  could  navigate  among  them  dry-shod, 
but  it  was  always  covered  with  water  in  the  rainy  season,  and  danger- 
ous to  cross,  and  over  this  my  road  lay;  but  now  it  was  impassable,  a 
river  a  quarter  of  a  mile  wide  was  rushing  over  it  with  mad  fury,  full 
of  rapids,  and  concealing  the  holes  with  its  muddy  water.  When 
the  horses  came  to  this  roaring  torrent,  they  reared,  and  plunged, 
and  backed,  and  would  not  go  into  the  flood.  I  jumped  out  of 
the  carriage  and  stood  in  the  rain  to  see  if  the  man  could  drive 
them  in,  but  they  would  not  go ;  they  were  terror-stricken,  and  made 
terrible  plunges.  Their  heads  were  turned  from  the  rushing  waters, 
and  they  became  quieter.  The  man  said  he  feared  that  if  the  horses 
did  venture  to  cross,  so  deep  and  wide  and  strong  was  the  current, 
that  there  was  danger  in  horses,  carriage  and  all  being  swept  away 
over  the  falls,  which  were  but  a  few  yards  distant,  hidden  in  the  scrub, 
I  had  to  get  into  the  carriage  and  drive  back.  Next  day  I  had  to  take 
a  long,  roundabout  road  to  get  home.  This  Flat  Rock  had  always 
been  a  great  bugbear  to  me  when  I  was  compelled  to  walk  in  the 
rainy  season.  I  came  to  it  one  day  on  my  way  home,  and  it  was  all 
under  water,  nearly  knee  deep.     The  holes  were  very  deep,   but  I 


THE  NEW  SCHOOL-HOUSE.  485 

could  see  them,  the  water  was  so  clear.  I  sat  down  by  the  rushing 
stream,  laden  as  usual,  and  afraid  to  attempt  to  cross.  I  sat  some 
time,  thinking  I  must  turn  back,  when  I  saw  a  well-dressed  stranger 
draw  near.  He  looked  around  and  across,  and  then  stripped  his  feet, 
and,  with  a  stout  cane,  had  nearly  reached  the  far  side,  when  I  felt 
impelled  to  call  to  him  (an  entire  stranger  to  me)  to  come  back  and 
please  help  me  across.  I  might  sit  there  all  night  or  go  back  without 
an  opportunity  to  cross  if  I  let  this  one  pass.  He  came  back,  took 
a  firm  hold  of  my  hand,  and,  supported  by  his  stout  cane,  passed 
between  the  holes  in  safety.  I  thanked  the  stranger  for  his  kindness. 
He  looked  at  my  dripping  garments,  smiled,  and  said : 

"No  great  kindness,  I  think." 

"Yes,"  I  said,  "you  helped  me  to  cross  that  stream,  which  I  could 
not  do  myself,  and  it  is  necessary  that  I  get  home  this  evening." 

So  we  each  went  on  our  separate  ways. 

As  I  had  to  turn  back  in  the  carriage  I  could  not  reach  Sydney 
before  dark,  and  I  had  to  take  shelter  from  the  storm  in  a  little  way- 
side inn  at  the  edge  of  St.  Leonard's.  I  partially  dried  my  clothes  at 
a  fire  and  took  tea  with  the  family,  all  strangers  to  me,  but  very  civil. 
The  house  was  crowded  with  people  taking  shelter.  The  storm  kept 
me  awake  all  night,  and  I  arose  very  early,  but  not  before  mine  host, 
who  said  breakfast  was  nearly  ready,  to  wait  for  it.  I  sent  for  a  hack 
to  take  me  home,  but  could  not  procure  one.  I  ate  my  breakfast  and 
called  for  my  bill.     To  my  great  astonishment  the  host  said: 

"Ma'am,  I  charge  you  nothing;  you  were  forced  to  take  shelter 
'^  under  our  roof,  such  as  it  is,  and  for  such  fare  as  you  had  you're  wel- 
come to  it." 

"The  very  reasons  you  give  for  not  charging  me,  are  those  that 
ought  to  make  you  charge  more." 

"No,  ma'am;  no  reason  would  make  me  charge  you  anything." 

The  storm  had  cleared  away,  but  I  had  to  take  a  roundabout  walk 
often  miles  to  escape  the  Flat  Rock.  I  changed  my  wet  garments  and 
stood  all  day  teaching.  The  bricks  of  which  the  cottage  was  built 
were  very  porous,  and  in  every  rain-storm  the  walls  were  soaked,  and 
the  plastering  inside  retained  the  damp  so  long  that  it  never  had  time 
to  dry  between  the  storms,  and  it  was  sometimes  almost  suffocating  to 
sleep  in  the  damp  air.  I  had  to  dry  my  bed  by  the  fire  in  wet  weath- 
er, and  to  keep  myself  from  taking  cold  and  rheumatism,  I  would  wrap 
up  in  wet  bandages. 

My  indebtedness  to  Dr.  Ward  troubled  me  for  some  time,  but  I 


486  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

found  out  his  little  daughter's  birthday,  and  presented  her  with  an  ele- 
gant fapier-mache  writing-desk,  with  all  kinds  of  tinted  note  paper, 
large  and  small,  with  envelopes  to  match,  pens,  penknife,  paper  knife, 
sponge,  tablets,  pencils,  and  everything  that  could  be  useful  and  pretty 
pertaining  to  a  desk.  I  wrote  a  note  and  sent  it  with  the  desk,  in 
which  I  said,  I  could  never  pay  for  her  father's  kindness  to  me,  but  I 
wished  to  show  my  appreciation  of  it  by  this  small  gift  to  his  little 
daughter.  I  had  a  note  of  thanks  forthwith.  She  said  she  was  nine 
years  old,  and  said,  of  all  the  things  in  the  world  she  wanted  a  desk. 

"Thank  you,  thank  you,  dear  Mrs.  Davies,  for  the  beautiful  desk 
and  beautiful  things.  Papa  was  not  pleased  with  you  for  sending  me 
so  handsome  a  present,  but  I  was  pleased ;  so  I  thank  you  again  and 
again.     I  shall  take  good  care  of  it  and  everything." 

This  was  a  genuine  letter  of  thanks. 

I  had  written  to  my  friend,  Hon.  G.  F.  Angas,  of  the  death  of  Mr. 
Campbell,  and  he  wrote  a  very  kind  letter  in  answer  to  mine.  I  wrote 
to  him  again;  but  my  letter  will  explain  itself: 

Bethany  School-house,  December  6,  1866. 
Hon.  Geo.  F.  Angas: 

Dear  Sir; — I  received  your  truly  kind  and  Christian  letter  with  your  liberal 
donation  of  ;^io  for  the  good  cause  enclosed.  I  should  have  answered  it  at 
once,  but  I  have  not  been  able.  I  am  sorry  to  say  I  was  lying  at  the  point  of 
death  with  erysipelas  in  the  face  and  head.  I  was  blind  and  out  of  my  mind  for 
five  days.  I  believe  Mr.  Dixon  acknowledged  the  receipt  of  your  letter.  When 
I  became  conscious  I  asked  him  to  do  so.  And  now,  dear  Christian  friend,  I 
take  up  my  pen  with  a  trembling  hand  and  weakened  frame  to  record  my  thanks 
to  you  for  the  help  to  my  work  you  have  so  kindly  rendered.  My  health  is  ter- 
ribly shattered.  I  have  had  severe  privations  and  exposures  in  prosecuting  my 
public  work,  and  working  hard  at  my  daily  toil.  My  labors  have  all  been  suc- 
cessful, but  they  have  been,  I  think,  too  much  for  me  under  the  circumstances. 
The  Lord  has  given  me  success  and  blessed  my  work;  all  honor  to  his  name.  I 
shall  write  again ;  I  am  so  weak  that  I  can  hardly  hold  the  pen.  May  grace, 
mercy  and  peace  be  yours  the  remainder  of  your  pilgrimage,  is  the  prayer,  dear 
Christian  friend,  of  Your  sister  in  Christ,  Eliza  Davies. 

On  the  anniversary  of  my  first  dangerous  illness,  I  was  again  strick- 
en, smitten  and  laid  low.  Dr.  Ward,  good  and  kind,  was  in  attend- 
ance. He  told  me  that  the  disease  in  itself  was  much  worse  than  it 
was  the  year  before,  and  the  issue  was  doubtful.  I  told  him  to  do  just 
what  he  thought  right;  as  for  myself,  I  was  in  God's  hands.  I  was 
not  now  so  anxious  to  live  as  I  was  the  year  before.  God  had  given 
me  the  time  to  finish  the  work  I  had  on  hand,  and  that  was  all  I  asked 


THE  NEW  SCHOOL-HOUSE.  487 

for.  I  was  willing  to  go  if  my  time  had  come.  The  world  gave  me 
no  concern  now.  On  Sunday  I  was  taken  ill,  and  on  Monday  my 
friend  Mr.  Dixon  walked  out  before  breakfast  to  see  me.  I  was  blind ; 
I  could  not  see  him  as  he  stood  full  of  sorrow  by  my  bedside.  He 
was  very  much  alarmed  to  see  me  so  ill  in  so  short  a  time.  He  had 
been  told  by  one  of  my  young  men  who  Avas  in  his  employ  that  I  was 
taken  ill  just  as  I  had  been  that  day  year,  and  the  old  gentleman  hur- 
ried to  see  me,  and  if  possible  to  render  assistance.  I  was  too  ill  to 
tell  him  anything.  He  saw  the  doctor  on  his  return,  received  instruc- 
tions, and  when  he  reached  Sydney  sent  out  a  nurse  and  what  other 
things  were  necessary  for  me.  The  pain  in  my  head  was  excruciating. 
I  was  delirious  very  soon,  and  continued  so  several  days.  I  told  the 
nurse  one  night  that  there  was  a  light  around  me  brighter  than  the 
sun,  and  more  dazzling,  in  fact,  it  was  blinding  me  with  its  brightness. 
I  put  my  hand  up  to  shade  my  eyes  from  the  dazzling  splendor,  but  I 
saw  the  light  through  my  hand,  it  was  so  transparent.  Now  I  was 
perfectly  blind  in  a  dark  room,  and  my  hands  perfectly  powerless  un- 
der the  cover.  I  also  saw  at  a  short  distance  heaven's  walls  of  golden 
tint  stretching  away  to  the  right  and  left,  and  the  gate  in  the  middle 
thrown  wide  open.  On  one  of  the  huge  golden  pillars  that  stood  by 
the  gate,  in  a  listening  attitude,  stood  the  majestic  Archangel  Gabriel. 
He  seemed  to  excel  in  strength,  and  was  ready  to  do  his  Lord's  com- 
mand. I  thought,  just  behind  the  pillar,  inside  the  wall,  sat  Christ. 
I  listened,  for  I  expected  to  hear  from  the  throne  the  beloved  voice  of 
the  Master  say  to  his  minister: 

"Go;  bring  her  up  hither." 

But  though  I  waited  and  listened  I  did  not  hear  the  command  or 
see  the  messenger  fly.  I  grew  weary  and  fell  asleep,  and  when  I 
awoke  I  was  in  this  world  and  in  my  right  mind.  I  asked  the  nurse 
if  she  had  seen  Gabriel  ?  She  said  she  had  not.  The  doctor  said 
that  my  mind  being  at  perfect  ease  was  the  salvation  of  my  body;  had 
I  had  a  tithe  of  the  anxiety  I  had  the  year  before,  nothing  could  have 
saved  me. 

"Who  but  a  God  can  speak  and  save  from  the  dark  borders  of  the 
grave?" 

"Thine  arms  of  everlasting  love 
Did  this  weak  frame  sustain, 
When  life  was  hovering  o'er  the  grave 

And  nature  sunk  with  pain. 

Calmly  I  bowed  my  fainting  head 

On  thy  dear  faithful  breast; 


488  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

Pleased  to  obey  my  Father's  call 

To  his  eternal  rest. 
Back  from  the  borders  of  the  grave 

At  thy  command  I  come  ; 
Nor  will  I  urge  a  speedier  flight 

To  my  celestial  home." 

I  had  two  very  narrow  escapes  from  the  grave.  If  I  had  a  third 
attack,  I  felt  sure  that  I  must  go,  and  I  looked  forward  to  the  time  of 
year,  November,  for  my  final  attack.  I  kept  my  house  in  order,  and 
was  not  sorry  at  the  prospect  of  entering  into  rest.  The  day  rolled 
round,  the  time  passed,  and  I  did  not  take  sick.  December  passed. 
I  felt  as  if  I  had  taken  a  new  lease  of  my  life.  I  had  through  this  year 
many  more  comforts  and  conveniences;  but  I  must  not  anticipate. 

Before  I  took  sick,  I  was  sitting  at  my  writing  table  in  the  school- 
room, filling  up  my  abstracts  and  preparing  my  returns,  when  a  woman 
walked  in,  and  sat  down  before  me  sans  ceremonie.  She  was  large  and 
square  built,  with  fierce  red-brown  eyes,  wide  mouth,  thin  lips,  low 
brow  and  deeply  pock-marked.  Like  the  woman  of  Samaria,  with 
whom  our  Savior  condescended  to  converse,  she  had  no  husband,  but 
had  lived  with  several  men,  one  colored,  and  the  present  one  an  old 
convict,  and  an  infidel.  She  was  a  Papist.  Well,  she  sat  down,  and 
fastened  her  red-brown  eyes  upon  me  with  a  fierce,  piercing  look.  I 
asked  her  what  she  wanted. 

"I  have  come  to  warn  you  of  the  danger  you  are  in,  living  in  this 
house  by  yourself;  this  is  no  place  for  you,  unless  you  keep  fire-arms. 
Have  you  a  gun  or  a  pistol?" 

I  said  I  had  neither;  but  "What  is  the  danger  of  which  you  speak?" 

"Why,  last  night  there  were  nine  runaway  sailors  came  to  our  house, 
and  knocked  at  the  door.  I  told  them  Bill  was  not  at  home;  but  he 
got  up,  and  let  them  in,  and  they  had  drink,  and  they  spent  a  rousing 
night  till  daylight,  when  they  left.  Now  what  if  those  sailors  had  come 
to  your  door  and  broken  in,  what  could  you  do  with  nine  drunken 
sailors  by  yourself  without  gun  or  pistol?" 

She  expatiated  till  I  grew  heart-sick  at  the  horrible  word  pictures  she 
drew.  My  blood  ran  cold  at  her  strange  fancies,  and  she  seemed  to 
gloat  over  the  effect  she  was  producing.  I  could  endure  no  longer.  I 
rose  to  my  feet,  and  said : 

"The  sailors  knew  where  to  go,  and  if  they  had  come  to  my  door 
by  mistake,  I  had  stronger  arms  than  fire-arms  to  protect  me;  I  did 
not  fear." 


THE  NEW  SCHOOL-HOUSE.  489 

"And  pray,"  said  the  strange  woman,  "what  arms  are  stronger  than 
fire-arms?" 

"The  arms  of  Omnipotence ;  they  are  around  me,  and  in  them  I  am 
safe,"  I  said. 

'  'There  are  people  lurking  about  here  every  night  watching  you ; 
they  look  under  your  door,  and  through  your  keyhole,"  she  said. 

"What  do  they  see,  or  expect  to  see?" 

"Oh,  they  have  seen  you  at  your  prayers." 

"And  so  I  was  saved  from  further  trouble;  but  this  is  idle  talk,  and 
I  am  very  busy.  I  have  no  more  time  to  listen  to  you ;  my  business 
is  of  more  importance,  and  I  must  attend  to  it,  and  I  hope  to  have  no 
more  interruptions  of  this  sort." 

With  a  scowl  on  her  dark  brow,  she  left  the  room.  I  was  greatly  dis- 
turbed at  her  fearful  representations,  yet  I  did  not  wish  this  fierce 
woman  to  see  that  she  had  power  to  frighten  me.  The  murderer  had 
been  traced  to  her  house,  and  she  was  my  nearest  neighbor.  Another 
time  she  rushed  into  the  school-room,  her  eyes  all  ablaze,  and  a  frown 
as  dark  as  midnight  on  her  brow.     She  exclaimed : 

"Mrs.  Davies,  you  have  nothing  but  a  nest  of  vipers  in  your  school, 
and  their  fathers  and  mothers  old  vipers,  and  you  allow  these  young 
vipers  to  call  my  children  bastards." 

She  raged  like  a  tigress  for  her  young,  till  she  stopped  to  recover 
breath.     I  said: 

"Woman,  I  have  no  vipers  or  vipers'  children  in  my  school.  I  be- 
lieve the  parents  of  all  who  are  here  are  married  couples  except  your- 
self. You  object  to  your  children  being  called  bastards.  Why  did  you 
make  them  that?  You  have  put  a  badge  of  everlasting  shame  upon 
your  children,  and  you  object  to  the  name  you  wished  them  to  have. 
Foolish  woman,  do  you  expect  strangers  to  be  more  considerate  of 
your  children  than  you  are  yourself?  You  say  I  allow  the  school 
children  to  call  your  children  bastards.  In  this  you  are  entirely  mis- 
taken; I  protect  your  children  from  insult,  and  from  the  ill-effects  of 
your  bad  conduct.  I  treat  them  as  if  they  belonged  to  a  respectable 
family,  and  they  stand  upon  their  own  merits  for  praise  or  blame. 
Your  poor,  unfortunate  children,  when  they  go  out  into  the  world,  will 
have  to  suffer  enough  for  your  sins  without  crushing  them  now,  and 
there  is  not  a  pupil  in  this  school  in  my  presence  would  presume  to 
call  them  by  the  disgraceful  name  you  have  bestowed  upon  them.  I 
pity  them,  and  while  under  my  protection  they  are  safe;  they  can  not 
be  always  so." 


49°  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

The  blaze  in  her  red-brown  eyes  had  quenched  in  tears;  her  harsh 
and  angry  voice  was  softened  and  subdued.  She  went  away  sobbing 
like  a  child.  I  had  expected  an  avalanche  of  abuse  for  my  plain  speak- 
ing; I  was  better  pleased  as  it  was.  I  hoped  she  might  digest  what  I 
said,  and  repent  of  her  wicked  ways.  Again  she  came  to  me,  more 
respectful  in  her  manner.  She  fixed  her  red-brown  eyes  upon  me, 
and  said: 

"I  believe  you  are  a  good  woman,  a  good  Christian  lady;  I 
did  not  think  so  at  first.  I  could  not  think  that  if  you  were  good, 
you  would  come  to  this  God- forsaken  place,  to  live  among  such  bad 
people  as  we  all  are.  I  thought  you  pretended  to  be  good,  and  I  hated 
you  for  the  pretense;  but  I  think  differently  now,  and  I  shall  not  abuse 
you  any  more,  or  try  to  frighten  you." 

I  told  her  I  was  glad  she  was  in  a  better  frame  of  mind. 

"Yes,  I  feel  very  different  altogether,  and  I  now  wonder  you  ever 
came  out  here,  and  took  so  much  abuse  from  us.  I  am  sure  you  must 
have  been  half-starved  sometimes." 

"The  Master,  whom  I  serve,  left  a  glorious  home  in  heaven  to  come 
to  earth,  where  he  suffered  hunger,  and  thirst,  and  cold,  and  abuse, 
and  had  not  where  to  lay  his  head;  he  was  despised,  and  suffered  a 
cruel  death  on  the  cross.  He  lived  a  life  of  poverty,  and  died  a  death 
of  shame,  that  we  might  inherit  eternal  life.  Seeing  Christ  has  done 
so  much  for  us,  I  wished  to  serve  him,  and  tell  others  of  him,  and  find- 
ing the  people  here  so  bad,  I  thought  I  would  try  and  teach  their  chil- 
dren to  be  good,  and  bring  them  to  their  Savior;  for  he  loves  children, 
and  he  helps  me  to  bear  with  what  you  and  others  have  made  me  suffer 
since  I  came  to  live  amongst  you." 

"I  wish  I  could  live  a  different  life  than  what  I  am  doing,"  burst 
from  her. 

I  said:  "You  may,  if  you  desiife,  live  differently.  Repent  of  your 
sins,  and  come  to  Christ,  and  he  will  have  mercy  upon  you.  He  has 
said,  though  your  sins  be  like  scarlet,  I  shall  make  them  white  as  wool; 
or  red  like  crimson,  they  shall  be  white  as  snow." 

"The  priest  does  not  talk  as  you  do;  for  if  I  pay  him,  he  forgives 
my  sins." 

"None  but  Christ  can  forgive  sins,  and  he  does  it  freely,  without 
money  and  without  price;  but  you  must  repent  of  your  sins,  leave 
them,  and  turn  away  from  them.  He  will  not  forgive  you  as  long  as 
you  live  as  you  are  living.  First,  you  must  either  marry  the  man  you 
are  living  with,  or  leave  him;  otherwise  you  are  not  safe." 


THE  NEW  SCHOOL-HOUSE.  49! 

She  had  been  to  the  confessional,  but  found  no  relief.     Again  she 
came  to  me,  and  said  "Bill"  would  not  marry  her. 
"Then  leave  him,"  I  said. 

She  said  she  had  so  many  children,  she  did  not  know  how  to  provide 
for  them.  I  told  her  the  Lord  would  provide,  if  she  was  anxious  to 
serve  him.  I  felt  sorry  for  the  woman;  she  was  awkwardly  situated. 
I  advised  her  to  go  to  the  Refuge  for  a  while,  and  I  would  exert  my- 
self to  have  her  children  put  in  the  Destitute  Asylum,  where  they 
would  be  well  cared  for,  and  educated,  and  taught  trades.  She  did 
not  like  to  be  separated  from  them.  Then  she  might  rent  a  small  house 
somewhere,  and  take  in  washing,  and  earn  a  respectable  living  in  that 
way.  I  could  help  her.  She  told  Bill  that  she  wished  to  bring  up  her 
cliildren  better  than  they  were,  and  she  must  leave  him.  She  left  him, 
and  rented  a  small  house  at  St.  Leonard's.  I  interested  my  lady  friends 
in  her  behalf,  and  they  bo;aght  her  a  mangle,  to  be  paid  for  by  her  in 
washing.  Supplied  with  this,  she  could  support  herself  very  comfort- 
ably. She  sent  her  children  to  school,  and  thus  began  a  new  life,  and 
continued  in  it.  In  passing  her  house  on  my  way  to  Sydney,  many  a 
blessing  she  prayed  for  me,  when  she  saw  me.  She  said  she  was  much 
happier  than  she  ever  expected  to  be,  and  she  hoped  God  would  for- 
give her  for  the  past.  I  hoped  the  good  seed  was  planted  in  good  and 
honest  soil,  and  that  it  would  bring  forth  good  fruit. 

The  wild  forest  was  becoming  habitable;  roads  were  opened  and 
cleared  in  every  direction,  with  gravel  floors  and  leafy  awnings. 
Floods,  fires  and  terrific  thunder  storms  still  prevailed;  but  improve- 
ments were  going  on,  land  had  been  sold,  and  temporary  buildings 
built.  Again  I  was  in  danger  by  fire.  A  wide  road  only  separated 
the  burning  forest  from  the  school-house.  Strangers  in  the  village  ran 
to  the  rescue,  and  they  poured  water  all  over  the  dry  shingles,  while 
the  boys  pumped  or  drew  it  from  the  wells.  The  large  arbor  was  de- 
molished to  save  the  house.  The  fire  did  not  cross  the  road,  but  sent 
showers  of  sparks  from  the  tree  tops.  Had  this  fire  happened  at  night, 
nothing  could  have  saved  me  or  my  house. 

Having  heard  of  a  good  school  in  the  bush,  men  of  moderate  means 
bought  land,  built  huts,  and  sent  their  children  to  school.  They  were 
a  more  respectable  class  than  the  original  inhabitants.  Being  me- 
chanics, they  worked  in  Sydney  all  the  week,  came  to  their  bush 
homes  on  Saturday,  attended  our  preaching  on  Sunday,  and  sent  their 
children  to  Sunday-school.  One  Saturday  a  woman  went  to  town  to 
meet  her  husband,  to  help  him  carry  necessaries  for  the  family,  a 


492  THE  STORY  O:'  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

large  one.  When  they  came  home  they  found  their  hut  a  heap  of 
ashes,  all  they  had  burned  up,  and  the  children  all  crying  round  the 
ruins.  The  poor  creatures  had  to  be  lodged,  fed,  and  clothed. 
I  emptied  my  wardrobe  of  all  and  more  than  I  could  spare,  that 
could  be  made  available  to  them.  I  wrote  out  a  subscription  paper, 
walked  to  Sydney,  presented  it  to  my  Baptist  friends  and  others, 
collected  a  considerable  sum  of  money,  and  left  the  paper  with  a 
friend  to  collect  more.  I  came  home  and  presented  the  poor  people 
with  that  which  greatly  cheered  them.  I  had  bundles  of  good  clothing 
sent  to  me  for  them,  better  than  they  had  ever  worn.  A  few  weeks 
more  and  they  had  a  substantial  frame  house  building,  and  when  fin- 
ished, it  had  windows,  doors  and  floors,  ceilings  and  chimneys;  a 
fine  substitute  for  the  hut  that  was  burned.  Their  wardrobes  were 
better  supplied  than  ever  before.  They  told  me  that  the  fire  to  them 
had  been  a  great  blessing  in  disguise. 

The  man  who  had  so  willingly  given  up  his  bed  to  me  when  Smith 
turned  me  out  of  doors  had  a  very  good-looking  wife,  but  she  was  a 
passionate,  high-tempered  woman,  unreasonable  and  exacting  when  in 
a  bad  humor.  While  I  was  at  their  house  I  talked  to  them  a  good 
deal  about  their  souls'  eternal  interests.  I  read  the  Scriptures  to  them, 
and  advised  them  to  accept  of  an  offered  Savior,  which  they  seemed 
willing  to  do.  They  attended  the  prayer  and  other  meetings  very  reg- 
ularly. They  began  to  have  family  prayer,  and  were  living  very 
happily  together ;  but  in  an  evil  hour  she  listened  to  the  voice  of  the 
tempter,  who  was  the  man  that  built  a  box  for  his  daughter  to  sleep 
in  which  I  occupied  when  I  left  H 's.  He  was  a  very  good-look- 
ing man,  but  a  coarse-minded,  vulgar-tongued,  burly  fellow,  whose 
wife  was  a  shrew.  She  never  came  to  any  but  the  tea  meetings ;  he 
came  to  Sunday  meetings.  These  two  families  were  very  intimate,  and 
both  had  kitchen  gardens,  and  sold  the  produce,  and  when  the  litrie 

man  H would  be  away  selling  his  vegetables,  P would  go  up 

to  his  garden  and  graft  a  tree  or  some  other  small  job,  ostensibly  to 

help  Mrs.  H ,  who  worked  in  the  garden;  but  that  was  not  all  he 

did,  for  he  tried  to  make  the  husband  an  object  of  ridicule  to  the 
wife,  and  she  listened  till  her  heart  was  alienated  from  her  kind,  in- 
dustrious, sober  husband.     She  began  to  neglect  her  duties.     When 

P did  not  go  to  her  garden,  she  would  go  to  his  house,  and  gossip 

away  her  ifme,  and  would  allow  the  vicious  P to  accompany  her 

through  the  forest  gloom  to  her  neglected  home.  She  began  to  despise 
her  husband;  she  forsook  the  meetimrs.     She  had  neither  food  nor  fire 


TUZ  NEW  SCHOOL-HOUSE.  493 

for  her  tired  husband  when  he  returned  from  town,  but  she  demanded 
the  money  he  had  collected.  When  he  was  on  his  knees  praying  she 
would  sit  and  laugh  at  him,  and  call  her  two  children  from  their  knees 
to  her.  She  would  rattle  dishes  and  do  all  she  could  to  disturb  her 
long-bearing  husband.  The  poor  man  was  goaded  to  madness.  He 
told  her  to  have  it  all  her  own  way ;  he  would  try  another  way,  and 
the  money  that  he  formerly  put  in  her  lap  when  he  came  home,  he 
left  at  the  public  house  and  came  home  intoxicated,  and  told  her  he 
had  given  up  prayer  to  please  her;  what  more  did  she  want? 

"Money,"  she  said. 

"Then  go  and  earn  it,"  he  rejoined. 

They  quarreled  and  fought,  and  P stood  by  and  urged  on  the 

combatants.    This  state  of  things  could  not  last.    I  pitied  poor  H , 

though  I  could  not  approve  of  his  conduct.     Mrs.  H was  reaping 

the  fruit  of  her  bad  conduct,  and  was  getting  the  worst  of  it.     Her 

sympathizer  and  adviser  was  P ,  and  he  took  a  fiendish  delight  in 

the  ruin  he  had  so  far  wrought ;  but  it  was  not  yet  complete.  The 
wretched  woman  came  to  me  in  her  trouble;  said  she  could  not  live 

with  H any  longer;  that  she  must  leave  him.     I  asked  where  she 

would  go,  and  what  she  would  do?     She  smiled,  and  said: 

"Oh,  I  can  do  better  than  stay  to  be  beaten  to  death." 

I  told  her  she  had  brought  it  all  on  herself;  that  she  drove  a  sober 
man  to  drink,  and  had  only  herself  to  blame  for  the  bad  treatment  she 

received.     I  told  her  P had  something  to  do  in  the  affair.     She 

colored  scarlet  to  the  temples,  and  said : 

"P is  my  friend;  for  he  told  me  some  things  about  H ,  and 

I  believed  them." 

"And  so,"  I  said,  "broke  up  your  once  happy  home  to  make  it  a 

bedlam.     No,   Mrs.   H ,  P is  not  your  friend,  or  he  never 

would  have  polluted  your  ears  with  his  vile  whisperings,  and  you  were 
very  bad  to  listen  to  him.  In  this  you  were  not  your  own  friend. 
Turn  away  from  that  wicked  man,  for  he  is  your  enemy." 

"No,  no;  he  is  unhappy  himself,   and  told  me  if  I  would  leave 

H he  would  leave  Mrs.  P ,  and  he  would  take  me  away  far 

from  here,  where  he  could  work  for  me  and  be  far  kinder  to  me  than 
H was;  for  he  loved  me.     So  I  told  him  I  would  go  with  him." 

"Oh!"  I  exclaimed,  "you  horrify  me.  You  blind,  foolish  woman, 
have  you  no  natural  affection  for  your  children,  that  you  are  willing  to 
sacrifice  them  and  leave  your  comfortable  home  and  your  husband's 
protection,  and  the  respectability  of  his  name,  for  what  ?  for  the  name 


494  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

of  a  married  man's  paramour  who  will  soon  tire  of  you,  and  return  to 
his  wife  and  daughter,  who  will  give  him  welcome  and  never  care 
where  he  has  been.  But,  poor  foolish  woman,  where  will  you  be? 
what  will  you  be  ?  An  abandoned  outcast  in  a  strange  place — aban- 
doned by  the  very  man  who  lured  you  from  your  once  respectable  and 
happy  home.  You  can  not  earn  your  bread  but  by  the  lowest  servi- 
tude, and  no  respectable  person  will  employ  you.  What  then  will 
become  of  you  ?  Starvation  staring  you  in  the  face,  you  will  fly  to 
the  streets.  You  will  think  of  your  husband,  children  and  home, 
all  forsaken  and  now  closed  against  you,  and  you  in  your  mad  misery 
will  commit  the  last  act  in  the  tragedy — self-murder.  Before  you 
take  the  fatal  step  that  will  surely  ruin  you  in  time  and  in  eternity,  go 
home  and  think  of  all  I  have  said,  and  think  whether  the  pleasure  of 
living  with  that  bad  man  a  few  weeks  be  worth  the  sacrifice  you  intend 
making.  I  shall  pray  to  God  that  you  may  see  your  great  peril  and 
flee  from  it  while  you  have  time.  Remember  that  I  am  your  true 
friend." 

A  few  days  after  the  above  conversation  Mrs.  H came  to  me 

again,  and  told  me  that  P had  got  everything  ready,  and  she  met 

him  by  appointment ;  but  she  told  him  she  was  afraid  to  go  away  from 
home;  she  could  never  come  back  again.  Whereupon  he  tried  to 
persuade  her,  but  she  held  back ;  then  he  swore  at  her  for  putting  him 
to  so  much  trouble ;  putting  the  whole  responsibility  of  the  disgraceful 
acting  upon  her.  They  separated  in  no  friendly  or  confidential  mood. 
They  met  again  with  the  same  result;  he  then  swore  enmity  toward 
her  and  hers  from  that  time.  With  clasped  hands  and  streaming  eyes, 
the  poor  woman  cried : 

"Oh,  Mrs.  Davies,  you  have  saved  me.  I  know  you  have  been 
my  friend.     I  can  never  thank  you  enough.     I  am  so  thankful  I  did 

not  run  away  from  my  home.     I  am  sorry  I  treated  H so  bad.     I 

made  him  bad  I  know,  and  I  fear  he  will  never  be  good  again,  and 
P swears  that  he  will  ruin  us  yet." 

"Never  mind  P ,"  I  said;   "he  has  no  power  to  hurt  you  if  you 

do  not  listen  to  him.  Avoid  him  as  you  would  a  viper,  and  you  have 
nothing  to  fear.  Your  husband  is  of  more  importance.  You  drove 
him  to  what  he  is  by  your  bad  conduct;  now  take  as  much  trouble  to 
bring  him  back  to  what  he  was  by  kindness  and  attention  to  your  duties. 
He  is  worth  gaining." 

His  reform  was  a  speedy  result  of  her  altered  treatment  of  him. 
They  once  more  attended  prayer-meetings  and  preaching,  and  were  a 


THE  NEW  SCHOOL-HOUSE.  495 

united,  happy  family  again;  for  H loved  his  home,  wife  and  chil- 
dren.    Months  passed,  and  again  Mrs.  H came  to  me  in  distress. 

"Mrs.  Davies,  I  am  in  great  trouble,  and  I  came  to  you  to  tell  you 
I  must  leave  H ." 

"Why;  what  new  trouble  is  this?  I  thought  you  were  perfectly 
happy  now." 

"So  we  are,  and  that  makes  me  so  sorry  to  leave  poor  H . 

What  shall  I  do?" 

"Tell  me  all  about  it,  then  I  may  be  able  to  advise  you." 

She  began:  "When  I  was  very  young  I  was  at  service  at ,  En- 
gland. I  was  fond  of  company,  and  I  married  a  sailor,  who  soon 
went  off  to  sea.     I  stayed  at  that  place  two  years,  but  did  not  hear 

from  Jim,  and  I  went  to  another  place,  where  I  met  H ,  and 

married  him,  and  came  to  this  colony.     I  did  not  know  whether  Jim 

was  alive,  nor  did  I  care ;  but  I  never  told  H that  I  had  been 

married.  Now  I  have  received  a  letter  from  England  from  a  friend 
who  says  Jim  is  alive  and  has  come  back,  and  has  been  asking  for  me." 

"Are  you  going  to  leave  your  husband  and  go  to  England  to  ask 
Jim  to  live  with  you?"  I  asked. 

"Oh,  no;  but  you  told  me  that  it  was  sin  to  live  with  another  man 
when  your  husband  is  alive.  So  if  Jim  is  alive  H is  not  my  hus- 
band, and  I  must  leave  him;  but  I  shall  go  to  service  and  earn  an 

honest  living.     I  know  I  shall  not  be  happy  away  from  H and 

the  children ;  but  my  conscience  will  not  let  me  live  with  him.  What 
shall  I  do?" 

"Go,"  I  said,"  and  tell  H all  you  have  told  me,  and  see  what 

he  says." 

H came  to  me,  a  poor,  illiterate  man,  but  possessing  a  human 

soul  bigger  than  Napoleon's.     He  said  ; 

"I  come  to  you  for  I  know  you  are  our  best  friend.  You  know 
Mary  is  in  great  trouble,  and  she  wants  to  go  away,  but  I  do  not  want 
her  to  expose  herself.  I  shall  tell  you  what  I  propose  doing  to  keep 
her  from  leaving  her  home.  I  shall  build  me  a  sleeping-room  near 
the  stable  for  myself,  and  she  could  just  keep  house  for. herself  and 
children,  and  I  could  just  have  my  meals  with  them  or  down  in  my 
room,  just  as  she  liked,  and  I  should  work  for  tlieni  just  the  same  as 
if  I  was  living  with  them.  She  says  her  children  are  bastards,  and  1 
might  marry  somebody  else,  and  they  will  be  poor  little  beggars,  all 
through  her.  I  told  her  I  should  never  marry  as  long  as  she  lived, 
and  any  and  all  tlie  property  I  had  should  be  put  in  her  name,  to  be 


496  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

divided  between  the  two  children.  Mary  wants  to  know  what  you 
think  of  all  this  ?  If  you  approve  of  my  plan,  nobody  will  know  of 
Mary's  trouble  but  you  and  ourselves." 

I  told  him  I  approved  of  all  his  plans,  and  thought  him  unselfish 
and  generous  in  the  extreme.     How  different  were  Mary's  plans  for 

H a  few  months  before.     I  went  to  their  house  and  talked  the 

matter  over  with  them.  I  thought  they  were  doing  right  to  live  apart; 
but  I  told  them  I  did  not  think  Jim  had  any  claim  upon  her;  she  had 

been  married  eleven  years  to  H ,  and  had  never  heard  from  him. 

I  did  not  think  he  would  trouble  her  now.  I  wrote  to  England  to 
inquire  about  Jim  for  them,  and  ascertained  that  Jim  had  been  dead 

for  two  or  three  years.     Mrs.  H thought  her  children  illegitimate. 

I  thought  she  and  H ought  to  be  remarried.     I  took  the  trouble 

to  walk  to  Sydney,  and  consulted  several  ministers  about  the  case. 
They  all  thought  a  remarriage  unnecessary.  I  went  to  the  Registrar 
General  of  the  colony  and  consulted  him.  He  asked  if  they  had 
been  regularly  married  by  a  licensed  minister.  I  said  they  had,  for  I 
had  seen  the  certificate.  His  advice  was,  that,  seeing  the  first  husband 
was  dead  and  no  one  but  myself  knew  of  their  circumstances,  a  remar- 
riage would  do  no  good,  but  would  prove  to  the  world  that  the  children 
had  been  illegitimate,  at  least  that  their  parents  thought  so.  I  went 
to  Mr.  Voller,  and  told  him  I  was  going  to  send  this  couple  to  him, 
not  to  remarry  them,  but  for  him  to  give  them  a  little  good  advice ;  to 
have  them  shake  hands  and  promise  to  be  kind  to  each  other  as  long 

as  they  lived.     This  was  done  to  the  satisfaction  of  all.     So  H 

broke  up  bachelor's  hall,  and  was  again  reunited  to  his  family,  and  a 
very  happy  family  they  were  now.     All  these  things  transpired  without 

the  knowledge  of  the  community.     Mrs.  H told  H that  I 

had  saved  her  from  running  away  with  P .  She  told  him  every- 
thing, and  was  forgiven  everything.  They  now  began  to  improve 
their  dwelling-place ;  windows  and  doors  were  added,  and  floors  and 
furniture.  I  took  quite  an  interest  in  their  well-being  and  improve- 
ments.    They  both  showed  gratitude  for  my  services. 

Before  I  left  America,  I  read  in  Darwin's  Journal  of  Researches  into 
the  natural  history  and  geology  of  the  countries  which  he  visited  in  a 
voyage  round  the  world,  his  description  of  a  valley  named  "The  Weath- 
erboard Falls"  in  the  Blue  Mountains,  which  so  interested  me  that  I 
said, 

"If  ever  I  visit  New  South  Wales  again,  I  shall  surely  visit  that 
sunken  valley." 


THE  NEW  SCHOOL-HOUSE.  497 

I  had  been  several  years  in  New  South  Wales  ere  my  cherished 
wish  was  gratified.  Though  Count  Strzelecki  and  Darwin  have  given 
fine  descriptions  of  the  narrow  chasms  in  the  bosom  of  the  Blue 
Mountains,  with  gigantic  sandstone  walls  around  them,  they  have 
failed  to  give  an  adequate  conception  of  the  grandeur  and  solemn  gloom 
of  those  vast  solitudes. 

I  started  from  Sydney  by  train  at  6.45  A.  M.,  and  reached  the 
Weatherboard  Inn  in  four  hours.  It  took  Mr.  Darwin  two  days  to 
reach  the  same  place  on  horseback  thirty-two  years  ago.  Fifty  years 
before  it  took  twenty  days  to  travel  the  same  distance,  being  sixty-one 
miles  from  Sydney.  Little  thought  Mr.  Darwin  when  he  said,  noth- 
ing but  sharp  necessity  would  bring  him  to  live  in  this  colony  on  ac- 
count of  its  uninteresting  aspect,  what  an  improvement  would  take 
place  in  so  short  a  time.  The  chained  prisoners  that  Mr.  Darwin 
did  not  like  to  see  made  good  roads  for  horses  to  travel  over, 
and  when  their  work  had  served  its  day,  it  gave  place  to  a  railway. 
In  the  time  past  they  had  crossed  the  river  Nepean  on  a  boat.  I 
crossed  nearly  at  the  same  place  in  a  luxurious  railway  carriage  over 
a  noble  bridge,  its  beautiful  proportions  supported  by  massive  stone 
buttresses,  heavy  enough  to  resist  the  strongest  flood.  It  is  a  splendid 
work  of  art,  and  worthy  of  its  talented  builder.  We  approached  the  face 
of  the  mountains,  up  which  our  iron  horse  had  to  pull  us  3,000  feet. 
He  seemed  to  be  gathering  strength  for  his  great  effort,  and  then  to 
force  his  way  up  like  a  fierce  war  horse  impatient  for  the  fray.  The 
shrill  whistle  shrieked  out  at  regular  intervals;  sometimes  growing 
hoarse,  as  if  choking  and  breathless.  As  we  were  sweeping  round 
the  face  of  the  cliffs,  we  enjoyed  the  magnificent  scenery  below.  In 
the  distance  we  saw  an  airy  bridge,  hung  in  mid-air  as  it  were,  but 
when  we  crossed  it  we  found  it  a  very  substantial  viaduct,  which 
spanned  a  chasm  of  great  depth  and  clasped  two  mountains  together. 
It  was  called  Knapsack  Gully  Viaduct,  and  consisted  of  seven  spans, 
five  of  which  were  fifty  feet,  two  twenty  feet  each.  We  reached  the 
Weatherboard  Inn,  the  resting-place  of  both  pedestrian  and  equestian 
travelers  of  by-gone  days.  The  walls  of  the  inn  were  without  windows 
or  doors.  It  gave  shelter  to  one  man,  who  lived  alone  in  this  dreary 
solitude  as  station-master.  Some  slab  huts  were  partly  standing  as 
desolate  pictures  of  the  past.  Mrs.  Dixson  and  myself  landed  at  the 
temporary  platform.  A  gentleman  also  landed,  and  as  we  three  were 
bound  for  the  fall  some  distance  from  the  inn,  we  took  a  boy  as  a 
guide.  We  went  down  a  litde  valley  lined  with  the  most  beautiful 
32 


498  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

acacias  peculiar  to  this  spot.  A  haze  Hke  the  blue  smoke  of  a  smol- 
dering fire  arrested  my  gaze.     I  called  out, 

"The  country  is  on  fire." 

But  not  so.  Our  walk  ended  abruptly,  and  an  immense  gulf  opened 
to  our  view  through  the  leafy  screen  that  shaded  our  pathway.  I  was 
amazed  at  the  profound  depth,  1,500  feet  below  the  sandstone  plateau 
on  which  we  stood.  But  to  have  a  better  view  of  the  gloomy  depths 
we  had  to  descend  several  yards  of  a  very  steep  incline.  This  was 
easily  done,  for  rough  steps  had  been  cut  in  the  rock  for  royal  feet  to 
step  on.  Alfred,  the  sailor  prince,  had  visited  this  place,  and  had 
looked  down  into  the  yawning  abyss  from  the  lowest  step.  I  went 
down  and  stood  on  a  shelf  of  rock  overhanging  this  wild  abyss,  and 
looked  down  over  the  vast  precipice.  The  point  on  which  I  stood 
was  at  the  head  of  a  large  bay  or  gulf,  the  line  of  cliff  diverging  on 
each  side  and  showing  headland  after  headland,  as  on  a  bold  sea  coast. 
These  are  composed  of  horizontal  strata  of  whitish  sandstone,  and  are 
so  absolutely  vertical,  that  when  I  threw  a  stone  down  we  saw  it  go  a 
long  distance  straight  down.  I  threw  another  out  as  far  as  I  could; 
we  soon  lost  sight  of  it.  I  grew  so  excited  I  felt  like  jumping  after 
the  stone  to  see  where  it  went.  Mrs.  Dixson  drew  me  back  from  the 
edge.  I  took  a  more  dangerous  position.  I  was  perfectly  fascinated 
with  this  new  wonder.  I  felt  that  I  could  not  hold  this  position  long, 
and  I  lay  down  full  length,  and  put  my  head  only  over  the  dizzy  edge, 
a.nd  looked  down.  I  felt  as  if  my  head  was  slowly  but  surely  drawing 
my  body  over  the  fearful  precipice.  I  shut  my  eyes,  and  crab-like 
crawled  away  from  the  frightful  fascination  of  the  place.  A  rill  came 
rushing  down  beside  us  and  made  a  mad  leap  over  the  precipice  to  a  ter- 
race, whirled  round,  and  made  another  leap,  forming  a  beautiful  spark- 
ling cascade,  1,200  or  1,400  feet  deep.  The  last  leap  ended  in  spray. 
On  looking  through  a  field-glass  at  one  of  the  bold  promontories  that 
formed  so  grand  a  picture  in  this  majestic  amphitheater,  about  five 
miles  in  front  of  us  was  another  line  of  cliff,  extending  so  as  to  encir- 
cle the  gulf-like  depression.  Whether  distance  lent  enchatment  to  the 
view  or  imagination  lent  an  ideal  beauty  to  the  scene,  reason  answers 
not.  So  unbroken  is  the  line  of  cliff  that  one  would  have  to  walk 
twenty  miles  round  to  reach  the  little  stream  formed  by  the  waterfall. 
While  we  were  waiting  at  the  Weatherboard  for  the  return  of  the  train, 
the  few  people  who  lived  around  were  on  the  platform ;  they  seemed 
to  think  that  I  was  fond  of  flowers,  for  several  presented  me  with  rare 
.rSpecimens  gathered   in   the   mountains.      Having  finished  building, 


THE  NEW  SCHOOL-HOUSE.  499 

fencing  in  the  school  premises,  planting  flowers  and  fruits,  and  having 
paid  for  everything,  and  established  a  good  school  with  a  salary  at- 
tached, I  thought  I  could  now  leave  at  the  first  opportunity.  Others 
could  now  carry  on  the  work  without  extra  labor  or  trouble,  but  rather 
with  comfort  to  themselves.      But  I  reckoned  without  my  host. 

The  American  Consul  told  me  that  the  long  looked-for  time  had 
arrived  that  I  could  return  to  the  United  States.  A  line  of  mail  steam- 
ers had  been  put  on  between  Sydney  and  Panama.  I  went  immedi- 
ately to  the  shipping  agent  and  bespoke  a  passage  in  the  next  month's 
steamer.  I  told  my  old  friend  Mr.  Dixson  that  at  last  I  was  about  to 
return  to  America.  I  had  bespoken  my  passage  for  next  month.  He 
said  he  was  about  to  visit  Europe,  and  he  forthwith  took  passage  for 
himself  and  wife  to  Europe  via  Panama,  saying  we  shall  all  go  togeth- 
er.     He  paid  their  passage  and  they  made  their  preparations. 

I  went  to  the  education  department  to  tender  my  resignation,  when 
I  was  told  that  they  could  not  spare  me  from  the  post  I  had  so  long 
held,  that  no  one  at  present  could  fill  my  place.  A  very  important 
bill  on  education  had  been  brought  into  Parliament,  and  a  certain  class 
of  teachers  must  stand  by  their  work  till  the  bill  passed,  and  I  was  one 
of  these.  The  bill  set  forth  the  importance  of  having  but  one  Board 
of  Education  instead  of  two,  the  National  and  the  Denominational; 
for  they  conflicted,  were  a  double  expense  to  Government,  and  the  sys- 
tems were  defective.  I  was  in  the  National  Board's  service,  and  they 
said  that  no  one  of  their  efficient  teachers  could  be  spared  till  it  was 
settled  which  Board  should  conduct  the  education  of  the  colony. 

This  bill  created  a  great  furor  all  over  the  colony;  it  concerned 
every  one.  The  members  of  Parliament  were  allowed  to  present  peti- 
tions from  their  constituents,  stating  which  Board  they  preferred. 
Mothers  and  daughters  were  allowed  to  send  up  petitions.  This  was 
a  new  thing,  but  it  was  just,  as  the  mothers  had  most  to  do  with  the 
children,  and  no  matter  which  Board  led  the  van,  they  could  frustrate 
the  efforts  to  educate,  if  they  did  not  like  the  system,  by  keeping  the 
children  from  school. 

The  mind  of  all  must  be  reached,  and  this  was  the  plan.  I  had  a 
number  of  printed  petitions  given  to  me,  and  I  went  to  every  family, 
far  and  near,  and  explained  matters  to  them,  and  had  them  sign  their 
names  to  the  paper  they  preferred.  I  carried,  and  presented  a  host  of 
names  of  both  men  and  women  to  our  member  for  the  Nortli  Shore,  in 
favor  of  the  National  Board.  The  bill  passed,  and  the  Council  of  Edu- 
cation, under  the  Public  School's  Act,  was  appointed  with  the  Hon. 


goo  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

(now  Sir)  Henry  Parkes,  Colonial  Secretary,  as  its  President.  Mean- 
time Mr.  Dixson  had  sailed  with  one  of  his  sons  to  America,  instead 
of  his  wife,  who  drew  back  because  I  could  not  go.  Although  I  felt 
flattered  to  be  of  the  least  consequence  to  Government  in  the  cause  of 
education,  and  was  convinced  that  it  was  my  duty  to  remain  at  my  post, 
which  I  did,  yet  it  was  a  very  great  disappointment  to  me  to  remain 
when  I  saw  Mr  Dixson  sail  off.  The  high  appreciation  of  my  work, 
by  such  high  authorities  as  the  gentlemen  who  constituted  the  National 
Board,  induced  me  to  sacrifice  my  inclinations  to  the  public  good. 

I  had  a  letter  from  Mr.  Campbell  some  time  before  he  died,  telling 
me  that  he  had  received  a  letter  from  me,  and  it  was  to  the  family  as 
a  resurrection  from  the  dead.  A  ship  had  left  Sydney  bound  for  Lon- 
don, in  which  I  had  intended  to  sail.  She  was  wrecked  in  the  English 
Channel,  and  some  luggage  was  found  with  initials  resembling  mine. 
It  was  thought  that  I  had  perished  beneath  the  stormy  waters,  and  they 
had  mourned  for  me  as  one  who  had  forever  sunk  from  mortal  view, 
till  the  next  month  my  letter  told  them  my  reasons  for  not  sailing 
in  that  ship,  and  my  disappointment.  They  were  glad  to  hear 
from  me.  Twice  I  have  been  thought  to  have  sunk  with  ships  under 
the  wave  to  rise  no  more.  Thanks  to  a  kind,  protecting  Father,  I  still 
live  above  water,  though  I  have  been  several  times  disappointed  in  not 
being  able  to  sail  for  America.  In  the  disappointments  has  been  my 
salvation.     I  tried  to  look  on  disappointments  as  blessings  in  disguise. 

I  had  more  books  and  letters  from  the  American  Bible  Union.  I 
wrote  to  them,  to  say  that  I  had  my  time  so  fully  occupied,  that  I  could 
do  no  more  for  them.  I  gave  them  the  balance  of  the  money  that  I 
had  left  with  them,  $90.00,  and  wished  all  prosperity  to  the  Union. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  NEW  SYSTEM. 

A  Captain  H ,  a  ship-master,  bought  land  near  me,  built  a  good 

house  upon  it,  planted  an  orchard  and  vineyard,  and  purposed  to 
reside  here  when  he  returned  from  sea.  He  changed  his  mind,  sold 
his  property  to  a  respectable  tradesman,  who  had  a  large  family,  and 
who  was  induced  to  buy  because  a  good  school  was  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. This  and  several  other  families  were  quite  an  acquisition  to  the 
place.     Mr.  and  Mrs.  B asked  what  they  should  name  their  place. 

"Bethphage,  near  to  Bethany,"  I  said,  and  very  soon  both  of  us  had 
the  names  of  our  respective  places  painted  in  big  letters  over  our  doors. 

Mr.  Moses,  of  lUawarra,  whom  I  had  nursed  through  a  severe  ill- 
ness, never  forgot  to  be  grateful.  He  had  bought  a  large  farm  at  Wing- 
scarribee,  on  the  South  Table  Land,  and  moved  his  family  to  it.  He 
had  built  a  comfortable  house,  and  the  family  were  prospering.  Long 
before  the  time  they  would  ask  me  to  come  up  to  their  high  plateau, 
and  spend  my  Easter,  midwinter  and  Christmas  holidays  with  them. 
One  Christmas  time  we  had  a  great  drought.  Our  wells  and  creeks 
went  dry,  and  the  high  hot  winds  fanned  our  faces  as  with  the  breath 
of  a  furnace.  The  sun  scorched  and  burned  up  all  vegetation,  and 
there  was  no  rain  to  cool  or  moisten  the  parched  earth.  The  cry 
everywhere  was,  ''water,  water,"  cattle  dying  for  want  of  it.  Oh, 
what  a  blessing  is  water,  if  we  are  not  flooded  as  we  often  are.  All 
were  suffering  for  want  of  water.  I  went  up  to  the  Wingscarribee  to 
spend  the  Christmas  holidays,  and  breathe  a  cool  mountain  breeze,  and 
have  some  cool  fresh  water  to  drink ;  but,  alas,  I  found  the  Winchy  in 
a  deplorable  condition,  as  well  as  the  low  lands;  everything  parched 
up,  and  fires  running  all  over  the  country.     It  was  a  distressing  time. 

Mrs.  Moses,  her  eldest  son  and  myself  started  to  church  on  Sunday 
after  Christmas.  We  had  some  distance  to  walk,  and  when  we  were 
about  halfway,  Edward  stood  still,  and  listened,  and  said: 

"Mother,  I  hear  a  running  fire;  the  wind  is  blowing  the  hissing 
sound  toward  our  house;  I  shall  go  back." 

He  went  back,  but  we  Avent  on  to  church.  We  passed  a  fium  wliere 
they  had  .secured  the  wheat  in  barns,  and  their  stacks  and  their  build- 

(501) 


502  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

ings  from  fire,  by  having  cleared  and  burned  a  large  space  all  around 
them,  over  which  the  fire  could  not  run.  On  we  went  a  little  farther, 
when  we  heard  a  rushing  mighty  noise.  On  our  right  a  few  feet  from 
us  the  grass  seemed  to  be  a  sea  of  fire,  and  the  waves  of  flame  were 
rushing  past  us,  licking  up  everything  that  was  in  their  way.  The  cur- 
rent, that  was  driving  this  destroying  element  before  it,  seemed  to  be 
but  a  few  yards  wide;  but  the  velocity  with  which  it  flew  on  its  mission 
of  destruction  was  terrific.  The  school-house,  in  which  the  Church-of- 
England  services  were  conducted,  stood  on  a  hill,  round  which  the 

fiery  current  ran.     Mrs.  M became  so  anxious  about  her  house, 

seeing  so  much  fire  run  toward  it,  that  she  went  home  ere  the  services 
began.  The  catechist  said  he  would  take  me  home  after  services.  As 
the  services  proceeded,  the  wind  blew  higher,  and  the  sparks  fell 
through  the  cracked  and  broken  roof  in  several  places;  some  fell 
into  my  lap.  When  the  services  v/ere  over,  and  we  came  out,  the 
whole  country  seemed  to  be  on  fire,  and  the  heat  was  intense.  We 
watched  the  progress  of  the  fire  from  this  point,  which  seemed  to  be 
out  of  the  current.  I  feared  to  walk  home,  but  delay  was  dangerous. 
We  started  on  our  way. 

"We  have  a  hot  road  to  travel,"  Mr.  W said. 

*Tt  will  be  well  if  we  can  walk  through  the  fire  and  not  be  burned," 
I  said. 

The  fire  was  now  raging  everywhere.  The  cedar  road  on  which  we 
walked  was  covered  with  burning  timber;  the  branches  of  the  trees 
interlacing  at  the  top  overhead  formed  arches  of  fire,  under  which  we 
passed.  The  forests  were  heavily  timbered,  and  the  farmers,  to  clear 
the  land,  girdled  many  of  the  trees.  These  took  fire,  and  burned  to 
the  base  with  a  loud  and  crackling  noise,  and  the  heavy  branches  fell 
across  the  road.  We  had  literally  to  walk  through  the  fire.  The 
grass,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  was  all  burned  up.  My  arms  were 
scorched  through  the  thin  woolen  jacket  I  had  on;  my  face  was  pro- 
tected by  a  thick  veil,  yet  it  was  scorched;  my  feet  were  burned 
through  my  boots.  I  could  hardly  breathe,  the  hot  air  was  so  suffo- 
cating. At  one  clear  spot  I  halted  in  my  hot  race,  to  take  breath  and 
gather  up  my  skirts,  as  piles  of  burning  brush  and  timber  lay  across  my 

path.     Mr.  W  walked  on  before  me.     He  turned  round,  and  saw 

me  standing,  and  shouted : 

"For  God's  sake,  hurry!" 

I  darted  toward  him,  and  before  I  could  ask  a  question,  I  was  an- 
swered by  a  tremendous  burning  branch  falling  from  a  great  height 


THE  NEW  SYSTEM.  503 

down  on  the  very  spot  where  I  had  stood.  One  end  penetrated  the 
ground,  and  it  stood  like  a  great  lighted  torch.  I  shuddered  as  it  sent 
a  shower  of  sparks  out  all  around  it.  The  wind  was  blowing  fiercely. 
On  we  ran  through  the  burning  forest;  my  woolen  jacket  was  scorched, 
and  my  silk  dress  alone  saved  my  clothes  from  all  taking  fire.  I  stood 
in  front  of  the  farm  I  had  noticed  in  the  morning  so  well  protected 
from  fire,  but  where  were  the  house,  barns,  wheat,  hay-stacks  and  out- 
houses? Alas!  they  had  been  protected  from  a  running  fire,  but  noth- 
ing could  protect  them  from  a  flying  fire.  The  lighted  branches  of  the 
tall  trees  were  carried  on  the  wings  of  the  wind,  and  rested  on  top  of 
the  hay-stacks  and  housetops,  and  in  less  than  half  an  hour  the  wind 
had  carried  away  the  burned  remains  of  all  that  had  been  a  fine  farm. 
And  not  even  the  ruins  or  ashes  remained  to  tell  the  tale  of  destruction. 
Again  my  guide  shouted: 

"Hurry  on!" 

I  did  so,  but  did  not  clearly  escape.  The  great  crown  of  a  burning 
tree  fell,  and  scattered  its  branches  in  every  direction.  I  was  nearly 
smothered  in  the  sparks  and  smoke.  I  could  not  speak  for  some  time, 
but  there  was  no  standing  still;  we  must,  if  possible,  get  to  cleared 
ground,  or  be  roasted  alive.  I  was  nearly  exhausted.  I  had  gone  be- 
yond my  strength,  but  life  was  in  the  balance;  I  struggled  on.  Two 
trees  had  fallen  from  either  side  of  the  road,  and  lay  burning,  and 
blocking  up  the  way  with  an  impassable  wall  of  fire.  One  of  the  trees 
had  fallen  over  a  fence,  and  set  it  on  fire.  I  clambered  over  the  burn- 
ing fence,  and  was  now  in  a  field  clear  of  underbrush;  but  every  tree  in 
the  field, and  there  were  many,  standing  at  regular  distances,  was  crowned 
with  fire.  We  were  nearly  within  sight  of  the  house,  when  I  saw  a  cloud 
of  smoke  rise  from  where  the  house  stood,     I  thought  it  was  gone,  and 

I  could  go  no  farther;  I  was  exhausted.     Mr.  W was  not  much 

better;  but  he  went  to  the  house  for  help,  and  he  and  Edward  Moses 
helped  me  to  the  house  almost  unconscious.  The  house  was  safe,  and 
full  of  people,  whose  houses  were  burned.  Every  family  that  was 
burned  out  would  flee  to  the  next  house  for  shelter,  and  help  tlie  peo- 
ple to  save  their  house  if  possible;  but  if  it  took  fire,  they  would  run 
to  another.  Men  were  on  top  of  every  building  on  the  farm  sweejMng 
the  burning  twigs  off,  and  keeping  wet  ciuilts  and  blankets  on  the  roofs. 
Thus  their  house  was  saved. 

My  host  and  hostess  were  greatly  concerned  at  my  condition.  My 
face,  arms,  hands  and  feet  were  badly  blistered;  my  jacket  was  burned; 
my  silk  dress  riddled  into  holes,  and  my  boots  burned  to  crisp.    They 


504  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

wondered  at  my  ever  reaching  the  house  at  all.  There  was  too  much 
to  be  done,  too  many  to  be  attended  to  without  and  within,  to  allow 
them  to  give  me  so  much  attention  as  they  were  giving.  So  I  took  a 
seat  on  the  veranda,  and  sat  quietly  watching  the  progress  of  the  fire 
till  long  after  midnight.  As  the  shades  of  night  gathered  round,  the 
wind  began  to  lull;  but  a  fitful  blast  would  now  and  then  tell  us  that 
the  storm-spirit  was  still  abroad.  I  had  a  most  extensive  view,  from 
where  I  sat,  of  a  basin-shaped  valley  of  considerable  extent,  surrounded 
by  a  rim  of  high  hills  crowned  with  gum  trees.  The  basin  itself  was 
enclosed  forest  land.  All  the  trees,  trunks  and  stumps,  the  very  earth 
to  the  grass  roots,  fences,  and  everything  that  could  burn,  were  ablaze. 
Some  of  the  giant  trees  were  hollow,  and  all  on  fire  inside,  and  when 
a  branch  would  fall  from  a  huge  trunk,  a  jet  of  flame  would  shoot  out 
from  the  trunk  through  the  opening  like  a  great  flambeau.  The 
ground  of  this  valley  was  like  a  surging  sea  of  fire.  When  a  fierce  gust 
of  wmd  would  sweep  across  the  valley,  the  tree  trunks,  standing  like 
pillars  of  fire  pointing  to  heaven,  would  send  forth  myriads  of  sparks, 
and  the  whole  atmosphere  was  seemingly  alight  with  blazing  meteors. 
Had  I  seen  a  picture  of  this  scene,  I  should  have  admired  it  beyond 
description;  but  it  was  too  terribly  real  for  admiration.  One  poor 
woman  was  with  difficulty  brought  to  this  house  for  shelter.  All  that 
she  saved  from  the  fire  were  in  her  arms,  two  little  children.  Her  two 
cows  were  roaring  and  running  mad,  with  the  fire  roasting  tliem  alive. 
I  saw  several  poor  cows  with  tails  and  hoofs  burned  off,  and  their  ud- 
ders also  burnt.  Oh,  it  was  pitiful  to  hear  the  poor  dumb  animals,  as 
they  ran  frantically  through  the  fire,  neighing,  lowing,  grunting  and 
howling,  as  they  were  being  roasted  alive.  About  midnight  a  great 
number  of  people  sought  shelter  on  this  height.  There  was  no  room 
for  them  in  the  house,  but  they  could  breathe  a  cooler  air.  I  heard 
one  man  say, 

"Oh,  how  thankful  I  am  that  my  wife  and  children  are  saved, 
though  I  have  lost  everything  besides." 

Here  was  a  crowd  of  men,  women  and  children,  all  thankful  for  per- 
sonal preservation,  though  they  were  homeless  and  penniless.  It  was 
a  terrible  time.  These  poor  people  had  run  from  farm  to  farm,  from 
house  to  house,  some  of  them  for  eight  weeks.  The  fire  had  been  rag- 
ing all  that  time.  When  the  devouring  element  had  licked  up  all 
before  it,  a  bleak  and  black  domain  was  left  behind.  Starvation 
seemed  to  be  the  fate  awaiting  many  of  these  poor  creatures.  My 
host  had  twice  been  burnt  out  before  this  conflagration ;  so  his  prem- 


THE  NEW  SYSTEM.  505 

ises  were  in  no  danger  from  running  fire,  and  there  was  not  so  much 
tall  timber  near  as  formerly.  He  kept  open  house  for  all  who  came. 
This  part  of  the  Great  Southern  Plateau  is  heavily  timbered,  and  the 
running  fires  will  clear  the  land  for  farmers;  but  many  a  rich  man  will 
be  impoverished,  and  many  a  poor  one  ruined,  ere  the  sweeping  pro- 
cess shall  have  accomplished  its  work.  This  district  is  also  subject  to 
floods  in  the  rainy  season,  and  heavy  fogs  in  all  seasons.  Floods, 
fires  and  fogs  are  the  characteristics  of  the  place.  It  will  be  in  years 
to  come  a  spendid  country. 

I  left  it  on  New  Year's  Day  without  having  had  a  breath  of  cool 
mountain  breeze.  I  mounted  a  powerful  horse,  and  had  a  five  hours' 
ride  through  a  dark  and  dreary  country,  blackened  by  fire,  to  the  rail- 
way station.     I  took  the  cars,  and  reached  Sydney  in  safety. 

At  this  time  great  excitement  prevailed  in  the  colony,  on  account  of 
our  sailor  prince  having  visited  our  shores.  The  preparations  to  receive 
the  royal  visitor  were  on  a  scale  commensurate  with  the  wealth  and 
loyality  of  the  colonists.  My  school  had  the  honor  of  being  invited  to 
take  part  in  the  proceedings  on  the  day  of  his  public  reception.  I 
transcribe  the  form  of  invitation : 

Madam: — In  accordance  with  the  instruction  from  the  Prince  Albert  Reception 
Commission,  I  beg  to  acquaint  you  that  arrangements  detailed  below  have  been 
decided  upon  for  the  conduct  of  the  schools  expected  to  take  part  in  the  proceed- 
ings, on  the  occasion  of  the  landing  of  His  Royal  Highness. 

1.  The  schools  will  assemble  in  the  outer  domain  not  later  than  eleven  o'clock, 
on  the  morning  of  Wednesday,  the  22d  instant. 

2.  At  that  time  they  will  form,  and  proceed  in  procession  to  the  inner  domain 
in  the  following  order.     (Here  followed  the  order.) 

3.  The  different  schools  will  be  furnished  with  small  flags  bearing  numbers. 

4.  The  places  of  the  schools  in  the  inner  domain  will  be  denoted  by  corres- 
ponding numbers. 

5.  The  arrangements  for  singing  the  national  anthem  have  been  entrusted  to 
Mr.  Fisher.  *  ♦  »  *  The  principal  teachers  are  requested  to  meet  in  the 
outer  domain  on  Friday,  at  half  past  one  P.  M.,  when  the  places  of  the  different 
schools  will  be  pointed  out. 

I  remain,  madam,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

W.    WlI.KINS. 

Council  of  Education  Department,  Switi^^ ,  Januaty  jj,  1S6S. 

On  the  2ist  of  January,  Prince  Alfred's  ship  was  conducted  into  Port 
Jackson  by  two  long  lines  of  steamers,  one  on  each  side,  and  other 
vessels  and  yaf;hts  with  all  their  flags  flying.  Every  vessel  in  the  harbor 
had  her  best  bunting  unfurled.     Cannons  belched  forth  their  thunder. 


5o6  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

Music  in  softer  sti:tins  sent  forth  her  notes  of  joy.  All  things  afloat  in 
the  harbor  did  royal  honor  to  their  sailor  prince.  Next  day,  amid  the 
greatest  enthusiasm,  the  representative  of  our  noble  Queen  Victoria 
landed  in  Sydney  His  reception  by  the  members  of  Parliament  in 
their  court  dresses,  and  the  civic  authorities  in  their  velvet  robes,  under 
a  triumphal  arch  artistically  decorated,  was  very  imposing.  His  tri- 
umphal march  through  the  city,  and  entry  on  Government  Domain, 
were  grand  beyond  anything  Sydney  had  ever  seen.  At  night  the  city 
and  all  the  harbor  were  splendidly  illuminated.  The  public  festivities 
and  celebrations  and  rejoicings  continued  many  days.  The  colonists 
were  showing  their  loyalty  to  their  sovereign  lady.  Queen  Victoria,  in 
the  person  of  her  son,  whom  she  sent  to  represent  her.  He  was  feted, 
and  feasted,  and  carried  everywhere.  A  picnic  on  a  grand  scale  was 
arranged  for  the  benefit  of  the  Sailors'  Home.  The  prince  consented 
to  be  present.  He  had  gained  in  a  very  short  time  the  affections  of  all 
the  people  by  his  frank,  modest  manners.  Our  prince  and  suite,  the 
Earl  of  Belmore,  our  new  governor  and  suite,  went  down  the  magnifi- 
cent harbor  in  boats,  prepared  for  them,  to  Clon  Tarf,  a  beautiful  inlet, 
where  they  landed  on  a  most  romantic  spot  to  hold  high  holiday. 
Everybody  was  full  of  joy  and  gladness,  because  they  had  a  son  of 
their  beloved  queen  among  them.  The  morning  dawned  all  glori- 
ously, happiness  and  harmony  reigned  throughout.  But,  alas!  the 
evening  ended  in  gloom.  The  crime  of  a  dastardly  assassin  filled  every 
heart  with  horror.  The  prince  was  crossing  the  lawn  after  lunch,  to 
go  to  the  place  where  his  own  band  was  discoursing  sweet  music.  He 
was  frank  and  confiding,  and  feared  no  evil.  He  was  in  the  act  of 
handing  a  check  to  Sir  W.  Manning  for  the  Sailors'  Home.  The  report 
of  a  pistol  was  heard;  a  bullet  entered  the  body  of  the  prince,  and  he 
fell  to  the  ground  with  the  exclamation, 

"Great  G— d,  I  am  shot." 

A  Fenian  had  stepped  from  the  crowd  within  three  feet  of  his  vic- 
tim, and  from  behind  aimed  at  the  heart  of  the  unsuspecting  prince. 
The  ball  entered  the  body  just  as  the  prince  was  turning  round  to  hand 
the  check  to  Sir  William,  which  caused  the  ball  to  slide  round  a  rib 
and  lodge  in  the  chest,  not  in  the  heart  as  was  intended.  At  the 
report  of  the  pistol  and  the  cry  of  the  prince  as  he  fell,  the  scene  was 
changed.  Consternation  and  horror  filled  the  happy  hearts  of  the 
vast  concourse.  A  man  from  the  mass  sprang  upon  the  assassin  and 
held  him  hard  and  fast  until  assistance  came.  Meanwhile,  the  das- 
tardly coward  fired  again  at  the  wounded  prostrate  prince  as  he  was 


THE  NEW  SYSTEM.  507 

being  borne  to  his  tent.  The  ball  missed  the  intended  victim  and 
entered  the  foot  of  a  gentleman  who  stood  near.  If  all  the  evil  spirits  of 
pandemonium  had  been  let  loose,  and  had  entered  the  people,  their  rage 
could  not  have  been  greater.  Lawyers  and  law-makers  forgot  their  dig- 
nity, and  laid  violent  hands  upon  the  Fenian.  They  tore  his  clothes, 
plucked  his  hair  and  battered  his  body.  It  took  the  mounted  police, 
backed  by  the  government,  to  rescue  the  criminal  from  the  infuriated 
populace.  He  was  dragged  on  board  a  steamer,  put  in  chains  and  con- 
veyed to  prison.  Pity  for  the  prince,  and  horror  at  the  atrocious  at- 
tempt at  his  life,  and  hatred  of  the  assassin,  threw  both  ladies  and  gen- 
tlemen into  a  furor  from  that  time.  The  unhappy  criminal  paid  the 
penalty  of  his  crime  on  the  gallows,  and  the  prince,  contrary  to  all  ex- 
pectations, recovered  after  several  weeks'  illness,  and  went  home  to  give 
an  account  of  perils  by  sea  and  perils  by  land,  and  from  a  false  subject. 

The  colonics  got  up  another  furor— a  loyal  madness.  They  wanted 
to  collect  ;^ioo,ooo  ($500,000),  for  the  purpose  of  building  a  memo- 
rial hospital  in  honor  of  the  prince,  and  in  gratitude  for  his  preserva- 
tion. All  were  expected  to  give,  whether  rich  or  poor,  to  the  Prince 
Alfred  Hospital,  or  be  suspected  of  disloyalty  to  the  queen,  her  family 
and  the  government. 

I  read  about  that  time  an  appeal  for  Bethany  College,  and  for  the 
endowment  of  the  "Campbell  Biblical  Institute."  It  began:  "A 
word  for  all  who  love  the  memory  and  work  of  A.  Campbell  in  the 
United  States  and  British  America."  It  reached  farther  than  the  pre. 
scribed  limits;  it  reached  me  in  my  Bethany  bush  home,  and  touched 
a  responsive  chord.  I  had  as  far  as  I  was  able  shown  my  loyalty  to 
■  my  earthly  sovereign ;  now  I  felt  constrained  to  show  my  loyalty  to 
my  heavenly  Sovereign.  I  sent  the  price  of  a  summer  suit — $25 — to 
help  build  up  a  memorial  institute  for  Prince  Jesus.  If  we  were  all 
as  much  afraid  of  being  suspected  of  disloyalty  to  the  King  of  the 
Universe  and  his  Son  as  the  colonists  were  in  regard  to  their  sovereign 
and  her  son,  we  would  soon  endow  such  institutions. 

In  September  of  1868,  late  one  night,  I  placed  my  lamp  on  a  chair, 
sat  down  on  a  stool,  taking  my  much-loved  Harbinger  yv\\'\Q\\  I  had  just 
received  in  my  hand,  and  prepared  for  a  long  night's  reading.  I  was 
very  intent  on  my  reading,  when  I  felt  something  crawling  round  my 
ankle  and  over  my  instep.  It  was  cold  and  pricking.  I  raised  the 
hem  of  my  robe,  and  there,  to  my  disgust  and  horror,  I  saw  a  mon- 
strous centipede  crawling  over  my  naked  foot.  I  did  not  scream  or 
move  till  the  reptile  had  left  my  foot  \  then  I  jumped  up  and  laid  hold 


5o8  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

of  my  boot  with  the  intent  to  kill  it,  but  it  had  vanished  from  my  sight. 
It  was  a  hideous  thing,  eight  or  ten  inches  long.  We  saw  them  some- 
times eighteen  inches  long.  After  this  interruption,  I  sat  down  again 
and  read  till  after  midnight,  amid  the  most  unnatural  silence.  The 
winds  were  asleep,  not  a  leaf  rustled,  not  an  insect's  wing  was  in 
motion — all  was  silent  as  the  grave.  A  feeling  of  awe  crept  over  me 
as  I  sat.  The  deathlike  silence  was  at  last  broken  by  the  sound  of 
horses'  hoofs  rushing  down  the  road  through  my  gateway  and  into  my 
inclosure.  Their  heavy  tramping  shook  the  house,  and  the  curtains 
of  my  bed  trembled  in  front  of  me.  I  jumped  to  my  feet  and  looked 
out  of  my  window,  but  all  was  blackness  without  and  silence  as  before. 
I  thought  it  very  strange  to  have  so  many  horses  in  the  inclosure,  and 
not  here  a  sound  from  one  of  them.  I  sat  down  after  this  second 
interruption,  but  I  did  not  feel  comfortable.  I  could  not  read  any 
more.  I  knelt  down  and  again  asked  my  heavenly  Father  to  protect 
me  through  the  silence  and  darkness  of  this  strange  night.  I  put  my 
light  out  and  was  just  stepping  into  bed,  when  a  trampling  sound  louder 
than  before  shook  the  house.  This  time,  without  thought,  I  ran  through 
and  out  of  the  house  into  the  back  yard,  and  peered  into  the  darkness 
and  listened,  but  not  a  sound  could  I  hear  and  nothing  could  I  see.  I 
found  my  way  back  to  bed,  but  could  not  sleep.  It  seemed  a  long  night. 
I  arose  at  the  dawn  of  day.  Mr.  Clark  and  his  son,  each  in  his  own 
room,  happened  to  be  up  reading  very  late  that  night.  They  both  heard 
the  noise  and  felt  the  shaking.  The  rector  at  once  pronounced  it  earth- 
quake. Had  I  known  that  an  earthquake  wave  had  passed  over  the  earth 
that  night,  I  do  not  know  that  my  feelings  would  have  been  improved. 
In  my  holiday  trips  I  was  always  gathering  information  concerning 
the  history,  natural  history,  geography  and  geology  of  New  South 
Wales.  These  were  pleasant  trips  among  the  mountains.  I  gave  my 
school  an  object  lesson  on  kerosene  oil,  but  I  took  a  trip  of  over  one 
hundred  miles  to  see  where  the  shale  was  obtained,  and  how  con- 
verted into  oil.  I  visited  the  Bulli  coal  mines,  to  see  how  they  com- 
pared with  the  English  mines.  In  New  South  Wales  you  do  not  go 
down  a  steep  shaft  as  in  England,  but  through  the  mountains.  These 
mines  are  not  liable  to  flooding,  or  fire-damp  or  choke-damp.     My 

friend  Mr.  S ,  whom  I  was  visiting,  gave  me  his  beautiful  drab 

mare  to  ride,  and  she  was  a  beauty,  swift  as  a  gazelle,  and  sure-footed 
as  a  chamois.  On  going  to  the  mines  one  beautiful  morning,  our  road 
lay  along  the  ridge  of  a  mountain.  There  were  two  ways  to  reach  the 
top  of  the  ridge;  one  was  a  long  circuitous  one,  the  other  was  a  climb 


THE  NEW  SYSTEM.  509 

over  the  face  of  the  mountain,  which  was  very  steep,  with  natural  steps 
in  the  rocks.     I  was  asked  which  road  I  would  take. 

"The  steep  one,"  I  said. 

"Then  dismount,"  said  Mr.  S ,  and  he  came  to  help  me. 

I  asked  for  what  I  was  to  dismount  ? 

"To  climb  the  hill  and  lead  your  horse  up,"  he  said. 

"Can  she  climb  that  hill?"  I  asked. 

"Oh,  yes." 

"Then  she  shall  carry  me  up." 

"No  lady  has  ever  ridden  up  that  hill,  and  but  few  gentlemen  care 
to  attempt  it." 

The  little  beauty  faced  the  hill  bravely,  and  as  she  stood  nearly  up- 
right on  her  hind  feet,  with  her  fore  feet  on  a  shelf  of  rock,  and  was 
ready  to  spring  up,  I  put  my  arms  round  her  neck.    She  steadily  climbed 

until  she  reached  the  top.     Mr.  S led  his  horse  up,  saying  he  did 

not  wish  to  risk  his  neck.  We  had  a  splendid  ride,  surrounded  by 
beautiful  scenery,  till  we  reached  the  mines.  Space  will  not  allow  a 
description  of  them. 

Our  village  went  on  improving.  I  had  my  cottage  neatly  furnished, 
and  all  my  neighbors  copied  in  a  measure,  so  that  their  houses  began 

to  look  decent.     Two  of  my  night  scholars  got  married.     John  R 

(one  of  my  body-guard)  built  a  neat  little  cottage  and  brought  home  a 
bride.  He  was  respectably  employed  at  Sydney,  and  came  home 
every  night.  His  sister  married  and  settled  in  our  midst.  Our  schools 
and  meetings  were  well  attended.  We  had  now  a  Municipal  Council, 
who  improved  the  old  roads  and  made  new  ones,  and  taxed  the  people 
to  pay  for  them,  which  they  .did  in  labor,  and  really  made  their  own 
roads.     We  had  no  lack  of  visitors  now  that  we  had  good  roads.     I 

had  several  distinguished  visitors  from  Adelaide:  Mr.   M ,  Mr. 

and  Mrs.  M ,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Earl,  our  first  American  evangelist 

to  Australia.     He  had  married  one  of  Mr.  M 's  lovely  nieces,  and 

paid  our  colony  a  visit.  Had  he  prolonged  his  visit  he  could  have 
done  much  good.  He  showed  how  a  man  of  education  and  polished 
manners  could  make  his  way  into  the  hearts  of  the  people.  After  a 
while  the  Sydney  people  sent  to  America  for  an  evangelist  for  them- 
selves. 

In  January,  1869,  on  the  eighty-first  birthday  of  the  colony,  all  the 
people  were  out  of  doors  keeping  holiday.  A  large  number,  myself 
among  them,  went  to  the  Blue  Mountains.  Our  great  iron  horse, 
strong  and  powerful  as  he  was,  seemed  to  have  hard  work  to  draw 


5IO  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

behind  him  up  the  zigzag  such  a  long  train  of  cars.  There  were  a 
great  number  of  day  and  Sunday-schools,  teachers,  parents  and 
strangers,  about  a  thousand  in  all.  We  had  a  second  powerful  engine 
fastened  behind  the  train  to  push  it  forward.  We  stopped  on  top  of 
the  plateau  at  Wascoe's  Tank.  Here  the  excursionists  left  the  train 
and  went  to  the  picnic  ground.  I  allowed  them  all  to  file  past  me. 
When  they  disappeared  and  were  enjoying  themselves  in  their  own 
way,  I  sat  down  to  ruminate  on  the  past,  present  and  future  of  this 
wonderful  country,  and  to  enjoy  myself  in  my  own  way.  Not  a  living 
thing  but  an  old  horse  grazing  near  was  to  be  seen.  How  small  and 
insignificant  I  felt  among  the  everlasting  hills  on  a  bold  promontory 
overlooking  the  mighty  ocean.  Truly  the  works  of  the  Lord  are 
great.  "O  Lord,  how  manifold  are  thy  works?  In  wisdom  hast 
thou  made  them  all."  But  here  come  two  stalwart  navvies  who  have 
helped  to  cut  pathways  through  mountains,  to  throw  stately  bridges 
across  the  rivers  and  to  intersect  the  land  with  railroads.  It  occurred 
to  me  that  navvies  are  like  sailors,  a  neglected,  hard-working  class  of 
men.  None  seemed  to  care  for  their  souls.  I  went  to  them  when  I 
saw  them  stand  still,  and  I  asked  them  to  give  me  information  about 
certain  rivers,  certain  bridges,  etc.  I  asked  them  their  names  and 
nationality.  Christian  Willis  was  a  Dane,  and  Samuel  Johnson  was 
an  Englishman.  I  introduced  Christ  to  them,  and  they  seemed  inter- 
ested in  what  I  said.  Johnson  shed  tears,  and  said  he  was  well 
brought  up,  but  had  gone  astray,  and  went  farther  and  farther  away 
from  the  right,  and  was  now  working  hard  among  the  navvies.  No 
one  had  ever  spoken  to  him  of  his  soul's  salvation  since  he  had  been 
among  them.  I  spoke  to  the  Dane  of  his  country-woman,  who  was 
our  much-loved  Princess  of  Wales.  She  had  left  her  own  country  to 
live  in  a  foreign  land,  but  the  same  God  took  care  of  her  in  the  land 
of  strangers  as  in  her  own  land;  and  if  they  loved  and  feared  God 
they  could  worship  him  among  these  mountains  as  well  as  in  temples 
made  with  hands  in  their  own  countries.  We  had  quite  a  long  con- 
versation. I  hoped  to  do  them  good;  I  became  interested  in  them. 
The  train  was  heard  in  tlie  distance,  the  excursionists  returned,  all 
went  aboard  the  cars,  and  down  we  went  with  a  sweep,  and  arrived 
in  Sydney  in  safety  after  a  pleasant  day  among  the  mountains. 

As  soon  as  I  reached  home  I  made  up  a  package  of  books  and 
tracts,  and  sent  it  with  the  following  note  to  the  navvies: 


THE  NEW  SYSTEM.  5II 

Dear  Friends : — You  will  find  in  this  little  package  a  few  interesting  books,  some 
tracts  and  two  copies  of  the  four  gospels,  a  new  edition.  I  hope  you  will  read 
them  all  with  care,  and  treasure  the  contents  in  your  hearts,  and  practice  them 
in  your  lives.  "Search  the  Scriptures,  for  in  them  ye  think  ye  have  eternal  life." 
Keep  the  Testaments,  but  when  you  have  read  the  other  books  and  tracts,  send 
them  along  the  line  that  others  may  also  read. 

Your  well-wisher,  Eliza  Davies. 

To  Samuel  lohnson  and  Christian  Willis,  Navvies,   Wascoes  Tank. 

These  two  navvies  sent  me  a  letter  of  grateful  thanks  for  the  kind 
interest  I  had  shown  in  them.  They  promised  to  read  and  to  try  to 
practice  the  precepts  found  in  the  books.  There  are  some  people  who 
think  that  the  poor,  hard-working  navvies  have  no  souls,  no  hearts,  no 
feelings,  but  those  of  the  brutes.  As  a  rule,  sailors  and  navvies  are 
careless  and  reckless  men,  but  show  them  that  you  have  their 
interest  at  heart,  and  they  feel  grateful.  Warn  them,  persuade  them, 
entreat  them  to  escape  from  the  tyranny  of  the  Prince  of  darkness,  by 
yielding  their  hearts  to  Jesus,  whose  name  is  love,  and  you  will  find 
your  reward  in  good  time.  There  were  hundreds  of  navvies  away 
among  the  mountains,  piercing  them  and  leveling*  them,  raising  the 
low  places,  laying  rails,  and  building  viaducts  and  bridges.  Their 
lives  were  ever  in  peril,  working  for  those  who  profited  by  their  labor, 
and  who  cared  no  more  for  them  than  if  they  had  been  beasts.  I  was 
at  the  house  of  the  engineer,  Mr.  Whitton,  one  evening,  when  I  asked 
him  which  was  the  most  direct  route  to  where  pioneer  navvies  were  at 
work ;  I  wished  to  see  them. 

"If  that  is  your  object,"  said  Mr.  W ,  "come  with  me  when  I 

make  up  a  party,  and  we  shall  all  enjoy  ourselves  far  better  than  you 
can  by  going  alone." 

'  'Were  I  to  go  with  you  the  navvies  would  be  on  their  best  be- 
havior; I  wish  to  see  them  just  as  they  are  at  work  every  day." 

"Do  not  be  foolish  enough  to  go  among  the  wild,  drunken,  swear- 
ing navvies;  they  will  insult  you.  Pray  do  not  go.  What  do  you 
want  of  them?"  said  Mr.  W . 

"I  wish  nothing  of  them.  I  wish  to  carry  a  message  to  them,  and 
I  feel  assured  that  they  will  not  insult  me  when  they  know  that  I  have 
their  interest  at  heart.     Will  you  tell  me  how  to  get  there?"  I  said. 

"There  is  no  way  to  get  to  them  at  all;  let  me  dissuade  you  from 
the  attempt,"  said  Mr.  W . 

I  had  made  up  my  mind  to  go  if  I  could  reach  them. 

March  29,  1869.     I  had  a  week's  holiday,  it  being  Easter,  and  I 


512  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

took  a  trip  to  the  Mount  Victoria,  Lithgow  Valley  and  Govett's  Leap. 
The  rail  is  finished  no  farther  than  One  Tree  Hill,  which  is  on  Mount 
Victoria.  I  went  to  what  was  said  to  be  the  best  hotel.  I  hired  a 
boy,  buggy  and  horse  to  take  me  to  Govett's  Leap,  one  of  the  great 
sunken  valleys.  Jehu's  driving  was  nothing  to  the  boy's  who  drove 
me.  He  made  the  young,  fresh  blood-horse  leap  and  bound  over 
holes  and  hillocks  in  a  way  that  endangered  not  only  the  buggy-springs, 
but  our  necks.  I  asked,  as  gently  as  I  could  between  the  jolts,  why 
the  necessity  of  driving  so  furiously?     He  said: 

"No  danger.  The  horse  is  only  fresh  because  he  has  been  up  in 
the  stable  feeding  on  corn  with  nothing  to  do.  Several  buggies  have 
been  hired  out  this  week,  but  no  one  would  take  this  horse  but  you." 

I  did  not  choose  the  horse.  I  had  no  choice  offered  me.  He  tried 
to  compliment  me  by  letting  me  know  that  I  had  a  breakneck  horse 
and  a  reckless  driver.  I  told  him  I  had  no  desire  to  be  killed,  and  to 
be  more  careful.  The  sandstone  plateau  we  were  on  rose  3,400  feet 
above  the  sea.  Govett's  Leap  is  about  an  hour's  drive  from  the  hotel. 
This  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  sunken  valleys  in  the  Blue  Moun- 
tains. It  had  been  one  of  the  great  obstacles  in  the  way  of  crossing 
the  mountains.  When  I  alighted  from  the  buggy  my  limbs  trembled 
so  that  I  could  scarcely  stand.  Between  the  long  ride  on  the  cars  and 
the  rough  buggy  ride  I  was  illy  prepared  to  explore  the  sublime  depths 
of  that  gulf.  From  the  spot  on  which  we  stood  I  could  not  see  the 
bottom  of  the  valley.  I  asked  my  guide  if  there  was  no  place  from 
which  I  could  see  it.  He  said  there  was  a  pathway  cut  out  in  the 
face  of  the  cliff  on  which  we  stood,  and  he  led  the  way  down.  The 
narrow  path  turned  an  acute  angle,  zigzag  fashion,  and  led  to  a  huge 
sandstone  pillar,  which  seemed  to  be  joined  to  the  chff  by  a  high, 
narrow  wall,  on  top  of  which  we  walked  till  we  reached  the  pillar-like 
projection.  On  this  I  stood  and  gazed  with  the  most  profound  awe 
on  the  stupendous  and  magnificent  scene  that  lay  before,  beneath  and 
around  me.  My  head  reeled  and  my  limbs  trembled.  I  turned  my 
back  on  the  scene,  so  terrific  in  its  grandeur,  and  told  the  guide  to 
lead  the  way  up  the  cliff.  It  had  rained  in  the  morning,  and  the  grass 
and  tall  reeds  were  very  wet,  which  made  both  descent  and  ascent 
difficult  and  dangerous.  The  long,  wet  grass  served  more  than  one 
purpose.  It  lay  across  the  narrow  path,  saturated  my  clothes,  en- 
tangled my  feet,  and  gave  me  something  to  hold  by  in  the  difficult 
ascent.  When  I  reached  the  acute  angle  my  feet  were  completely 
bound  round  by  my  long,  wet  dress  and  the  wet  grass,  so  that  I  could 


THE  NEW  SYSTEM.  513 

not  move  a  step  up  or  around  the  angle.  I  held  on  to  the  grass  with 
my  hands  for  dear  Hfe.  I  dared  not  look  down ;  the  perpendicular 
depth  was  more  than  1,500  feet.  I  stood  on  a  point  between  life  and 
death.  I  called  to  the  guide  to  return;  he  had  gone  on  and  out  of 
sight.  He  soon  returned,  stood  on  a  ledge  above  rae  and  gave  me  his 
hand.  I  felt  a  sense  of  strength  now  while  I  disentangled  my  feet, 
gathered  up  my  dress,  and  took  the  one  step  up  and  around,  and  was 
on  the  path  with  the  guide ;  but  I  told  him  not  to  let  my  hand  go,  or 
I  should  fall  backwards.  I  felt  secure  as  long  as  I  felt  his  grip  of  iron. 
I  had  lost  the  power  to  hold  on;  I  was  nearly  paralyzed.  I  ought  not 
to  have  dared  the  dangerous  descent,  but  such  places  have  a  deep 
interest  for  me.  I  can  not  resist  the  temptation  to  explore  when  op- 
portunity offers.  Before  leaving  the  spot  the  guide  told  me  of  a  thrill 
ing  scene  which  transpired  a  short  time  before  my  visit.  Three  young 
men  had  visited  this  place,  and  in  their  desire  to  hear  if  a  stone  could 
reach  the  bottom,  for  they  knew  they  could  not  see  it,  they  took  levers 
and  began  to  pry  a  detached  piece  of  rock  of  about  two  hundred 
weight  which  lay  near  the  edge  of  the  cliff.  One  of  the  levers  broke, 
throwing  the  young  man  who  held  it  forward  on  the  rock,  when  both 
he  and  the  rock  were  hurled  over  the  cliff.  But  strange  to  tell,  the 
orchids  which  grew  from  the  sides  of  the  cliff  entangled  him  in  a  net 
as  it  were,  and  held  him  fast  in  mid-air  till  assistance  was  rendered  by 
letting  down  ropes  from  above.  He  was  saved  almost  by  a  miracle. 
I  gazed  upon  the  spot  of  this  thrilling  adventure,  and  then  turned 
away. 

On  reaching  the  railway  depot,  which  was  not  far  from  the  hotel,  I 
dismounted  to  see  a  train  start  to  Sydney.  On  the  platform  stood  a 
gang  of  fourteen  criminals,  chained  two  and  two,  by  their  hands  and 
feet.  They  were  an  ill-looking  set  of  desperadoes.  They  were  fero- 
cious, brutish  and  scowling.  They  were  bushrangers,  whose  trade 
was  rapine  and  murder.  This  region  was  infested  by  such  men,  but 
an  effective  corps  of  mounted  troopers  were  on  their  trail,  and  the 
^  number  was  growing  less.  These  fourteen  were  going  to  their  sure 
doom. 

Sunday  morning  I  was  awakened  at  early  dawn  by  hearing  a  slight 
noise  at  my  bed's  head.  It  grew  louder,  as  if  a  door  opened.  I  rose 
up,  and  called, 

"Who  is  there?" 

I  was  startled  and  greatly  alarmed  at  the  sudden  appearance  and 

33 


514  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LITE. 

disappearance  of  a  man's  head  and  shoulders  at  a  door  at  my  bed's 
head,  not  the  one  by  which  I  entered  the  room.  I  laid  my  head  on 
my  pillow,  but  not  to  sleep.  I  thought  of  the  ferocious  bushrangers  I 
had  seen  the  day  before,  and  I  could  not  rest.  I  arose  and  made  my 
toilet.  I  called  for  the  lady  of  the  house,  and  told  her  that  my  room 
had  been  entered  by  a  man,  who  must  have  had  a  key  to  the  door,  or 
it  had  been  left  open  for  him ;  in  either  case  I  did  not  feel  that  the 
house  was  safe  to  lodge  in.     She  said : 

"Madam,  you  need  have  no  fear;  I  have  heard  of  the  invasion  of 
your  room  by  the  gentleman  who  entered  it.  He  has  been  at  this 
house  for  his  health  for  some  time,  and  his  room  is  at  the  back  of  the 
house,  and  to  save  him  a  long  walk  round,  we  have  allowed  him  to 
come  through  that  room  for  a  near  cut  to  the  front  of  the  house;  and 
not  knowing  it  was  occupied,  he  was  about  to  pass  through  as  usual, 
when  he  was  greatly  alarmed  at  hearing  a  lady's  voice,  and  ran  back 
very  much  annoyed  at  not  having  been  told  the  room  was  occupied. 
It  was  a  very  great  neglect  not  having  fastened  the  door,  but  such  a 
thing  shall  not  happen  again." 

I  accepted  the  explanation. 

At  Mount  Victoria  is  the  famous  Pass  of  the  Blue  Mountains,  beyond 
which  for  many  miles  the  navvies  were  at  work,  and  many  of  them 
had  left  their  families  this  side  of  the  pass.  As  it  was  Lord's  day,  and 
there  was  no  church  of  any  kind  to  go  to,  I  took  from  my  carpet  bag 
several  packages  of  tracts,  and  sallied  forth  on  my  mission  of  distrib- 
uting them.  I  went  from  hut  to  hut,  asking  the  people  if  they  would 
like  to  read  a  little  book,  or  a  few  tracts.  Many  received  my  proffered 
kindness  gladly,  and  not  only  promised  to  read  them,  but  would  give 
them  to  others  to  read.     A  few  refused  them. 

I  knocked  at  the  door  of  one  hut,  where  were  several  girls,  some 
nearly  grown.  I  asked  them  if  they  could  read,  and  if  so,  would  they 
read  some  tracts  and  books  I  offered  them.  Their  faces  lit  up  pleas- 
antly as  they  were  about  to  take  them.  A  window  shutter  at  my  side 
opened  very  suddenly,  and  a  woman's  head  protruded.  She  cried  out 
in  a  shrill  tone, 

"We  don't  want  your  cursed  books  or  tracts;  do  you  think  I  don't 
know  what  the  likes  of  you  want  giving  us  them  things  to  read?  You 
mean  to  convert  us  from  the  true  church.  We  want  none  of  them 
things  to  read;  so  be  off  with  you,  or  I'll" . 

But  I  did  not  hear  what  she  intended  to  do,  for  I  stood  perfectly  still, 
and  looked  at  her,  and  she  stopped  short  in  the  threat.     I  said  to  her : 


THE  NEW  SYSTEM. 


"I  have  asked  a  very  civil  question,  and  being  a  woman,  I  expected 
a  civil  answer." 

I  told  her  she  had  a  perfect  right  to  refuse  taking  my  books  and 
cracts,  but  she  might  have  used  civil  language  in  so  domg.  I  certainly 
iiad  no  idea  of  forcing  her  to  accept  of  what  had  cost  me  money,  and 
I  had  carried  them  a  long  distance.  I  was  willing  to  give  to  those  who 
were  willing  to  receive,  on  condition  that  they  would  read  them.  I 
felt  better  pleased,  however,  to  have  a  person  refuse  to  take  them,  who 
did  not  intend  to  read  them,  ^han  to  take  them,  and  throw  them  into 
the  fire,  or  otherwise  destroy  them.  There  are  many  poor  people  glad 
to  have  something  to  read;  so  I  am  pleased  that  you  refused  them,  as 
you  had  no  wish  to  read.  I  wished  her  good  morning.  This  was  the 
only  uncivil  rebuff  that  I  had.  I  distributed  a  great  many  publica- 
tions, and  had  many  pleasant  chats  with  the  bark-hut  inhabitants.  On 
my  return  to  the  hotel,  many  hours  after  the  stormy  encounter  with  the 
Papist  woman,  one  of  the  girls  was  out  on  the  road  watching  for  me, 
and  very  politely  asked  me  to  go  into  their  hut;  her  mother  had  sent 
her  to  ask  me  to  come  in.  I  was  pleasandy  surprised  to  see  such  a 
change  in  the  woman's  manner.  She  apologized  for  her  rudeness  of 
the  morning,  and  the  girls  thought  I  must  be  tired  with  my  long  walk, 
and  would  need  some  refreshment;  so  they  had  made  me  a  nice  hot 
cake  and  a  cup  of  good  tea.  I  was  pleased  to  sit  down  by  a  little  table 
covered  with  a  clean  cloth,  and  partake  of  what  had  been  so  kindly 
prepared  for  me.  They  all  seemed  to  try  to  make  me  forget  the  morn- 
ing's proceedings.  The  woman  explained  that  the  priest  had  warfted 
them,  on  pain  of  his  curses,  not  to  read  anything  that  heretics  offered 
to  them,  for  all  their  books  were  bad  and  dangerous,  and  were  all  in- 
tended to  take  them  from  the  true  church. 

"Oh,  it  is  dreadful,"  she  said;  "but  the  girls  want  to  read  something 
of  what  you  offered  them  this  morning,  and  I  will  not  hinder  them  to 
read,  if  you  will  be  so  kind  as  to  give  them  something." 

I  said  I  would  give  them  books  and  tracts  with  pleasure,  if  they 
would  read  them,  and  send  them  round  ^o  be  read  by  others.  The 
girls  readily  promised,  and  seemed  glad  to  have  something  to  read. 
The  woman  began  to  talk  in  the  most  exalted  terms  of  Mary,  the 
Mother  of  God.  When  she  found  that  I  had  great  respect  for  the 
mother  of  our  Lord  Jesus,  she  listened  the  more  earnestly  to  what  I 
said  about  Christ.  The  girls  seemed  to  be  thirsting  for  the  water  of 
life,  and  drank  in  every  word  I  said.     I  left  them  with  a  prayer,  that 


Sl€  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

what  I  said  might  lead  them  to  tliink  more  of  Christ  and  his  work,  than 
of  Mary  and  the  priest 

On  my  walk  out  I  went  as  far  as  the  great  mount,  and  found  it  spht 
from  top  to  base  by  some  convulsion  of  nature,  and  the  frightful  chasm 
spanned  by  a  narrow  bridge,  which  clasped  the  two  halves  of  the  moun- 
tain together.  I  climbed  up  a  spur  of  the  mount,  and  sat  there  for  a 
long  time  in  profound  revery.  I  saw  coming  round  the  road  two  bul- 
lock drays.  I  clambered  down  from  my  perch,  to  go  and  meet  the 
drivers.  I  called  to  them  to  stop.  They  looked  all  around  in  aston- 
ishment at  hearing  a  voice  at  that  spot,  for  they  did  not  see  me.  When 
I  reached  the  road,  they  were  as  much  astonished  to  see  a  woman 
there,  as  they  had  been  at  hearing  my  voice.  I  asked  them  if  they 
could  read.  They  very  politely  said  they  could.  I  asked  them  if  they 
would  read  some  books  and  tracts.  They  said  they  would  be  glad  and 
thankful  to  have  something  to  read,  for  they  lived  a  long  way  in  the 
interior,  where  they  could  not  get  books  of  any  kind.  I  gave  them  a 
good  supply,  and  told  them  to  read  them,  and  not  destroy  them. 

"No,  ma'am;  we  shall  not  destroy  what  we  are  so  glad  to  receive," 
they  said. 

Tears  were  in  the  eyes  of  one  of  these  youths,  and  I  walked  beside 
him,  talking  to  him  about  his  soul,  till  we  came  to  the  gorge.  I  wished 
to  see  how  they  would  take  their  bullocks  across.  While  the  terminus 
of  the  permanent  railway  was  at  Mount  Victoria,  a  temporary  track 
had  been  laid  from  there  to  where  the  navvies  were  at  work.  A  small 
engine  was  laid  on  this  track  with  trucks,  to  carry  railroad  material  to 
the  place  where  the  navvies  were  at  work.  I  went  to  the  engine  driver, 
and  asked  him  how  far  his  little  train  went.  He  said  "sixteen  miles." 
I  asked  if  any  of  the  navvies  had  their  families  with  them.  He  said 
there  was  quite  a  township  of  bark  huts;  but  Lithgow  Valley  Zig-zag, 
where  the  men  were  at  work,  was  seven  miles  beyond.  I  was  bent  on 
reaching  the  workers.  I  told  this  man,  if  he  would  take  me  as  far  as 
he  went,  I  would  pay  him  well ;  but  he  said  he  could  not  possibly  take 
me,  as  the  trucks  were  loaded  with  timber  and  iron,  and  the  engine 
was  so  small  that  he  and  the  fireman  could  hardly  stand  on  the  little 
platform.  I  had  quite  made  up  my  mind  that  this  litde  man  should 
take  me  on  his  little  engine.  I  told  him  that  I  had  come  from  Sydney 
all  the  way  with  books  and  tracts  for  the  navvies,  and  I  hoped  he  would 
take  me  on  his  little  engine.  I  would  stand  where  the  fireman  stood, 
and  he  could  stand  in  the  tender  for  the  sixteen  miles,  and  I  would  be 
•that  much  nearer  to  the  men  I  wished  to  see.     I  hoped  he  would  not 


THE  NEW  SYSTEM.  517 

Stop  me  on  my  mission,  but  take  me  with  him  without  pay,  if  he  dared 
not  take  pay.  He  looked  astonished  at  my  proposal.  He  feared  I 
would  fall  off,  or  be  burned,  or  smeared  with  the  coal  tar  and  oil.  I 
said  I  would  take  all  the  risks,  if  he  would  only  take  me.  At  last  he 
consented  to  take  me  if,  when  I  saw  the  engine,  I  would  venture  on  it. 
I  saw  the  little  locomotive,  and  did  not,  of  course,  object  to  the  little 
thing,  though  I  scarce  had  standing-room.  When  I  descended  to  terra 
firma,  I  saw  a  black  band  of  grease  on  my  brown  Holland  dress,  from 
my  waist  to  the  hem  on  the  skirt,  but  I  did  not  care  for  it;  I  had 
gained  my  object.  When  I  asked  the  two  young  men  where  to  go, 
they  kindly  walked  two  miles  with  me  to  the  house  of  a  sub-contractor, 
where  I  could  lodge  while  in  this  region.  I  ordered  a  good  lunch  for 
the  young  men,  and  offered  to  pay  them;  but  they  said  they  were  well 
paid  by  being  so  kindly  talked  to  by  me,  and  by  the  tracts  I  had  given 
them.  They  said,  when  I  was  ready  to  go  back  to  Mt.  Victoria,  they 
would  come  for  me,  and  take  me  the  way  I  came.  They  could  not 
have  been  more  obliging. 

I  asked  Mrs.  C for  directions  to  find  the  place  where  the  men 

were  at  work. 

"Oh,  I  shall  take  you,"  she  said,  and  forthwith  she  prepared  to  ac- 
company me. 

She  came  out  dressed  in  gay  colors,  flaunting  a  long  white  ostrich 
feather  in  an  old-fashioned  straw  bonnet.  Dame  fashion  did  not  often 
reach  this  deep  dell;  but  the  feather  was  fine,  and  the  colors  were 
bright,  and  she  could  wear  what  she  liked,  or  rather  what  she  had. 
Was  she  not  a  contractor's  wife?  I  left  my  carpet  bag  till  I  could  go 
out  alone  to  distribute  its  contents.  My  guide  tried  to  tiptoe  among 
the  rocks  and  rough  places,  but  finally  she  had  to  plant  her  feet  firmly, 
to  enable  her  to  walk  without  falling.  The  feather  had  many  a  toss, 
and  the  flounces  fluttered,  but  we  got  along  very  well.  I  had  an  op- 
portunity to  contemplate  the  stupendous  work  in  which  the  men  were 
engaged.  I  saw  men  fifty,  a  hundred,  two  hundred,  three  hundred 
feet  above  me,  standing  on  little  ledges  of  a  cliff,  and  boring  holes  for 

blasting.    They  looked  like  pictures  hung  on  a  wall.     Mrs.  C told 

me,  with  great  unconcern,  that  the  men  often  fell  from  their  perilous 
positions,  and  got  killed.  One  had  fallen  two  days  before  my  visit. 
I  was  told  the  great  blast  was  to  take  place  presently.  I  heard  a  thun- 
dering report,  and  thought  a  mountain  was  displaced;  but  it  was  only 
the  top  that  had  been  blown  off  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  iron  horse. 
Jt  was  a  grand  sight  to  sec  tons  and  tons  of  solid  rock  spring  into  mid- 


5l8  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

air,  and  then  fall  down  into  the  valley  below.  The  Lithgow  Valley 
Zigzag  shows  that  the  ingenuity  of  man  is  great,  and  his  works  won- 
derful; but  God's  works  and  ways  are  past  finding  out. 

On  our  return  we  passed  through  quite  a  large  village,  and  I  saw  a 
number  of  children  running  about.  I  asked  if  they  had  a  school  for 
these  little  ones.  I  was  told  they  had  a  public  school.  This  I  desired 
to  visit,  but  the  master  was  from  home.  I  left  a  message  for  him  to 
meet  me  at  his  school-house  nex't  day.  We  reached  the  house  in  time 
for  supper.  I  met  the  contractor,  a  quiet,  civil  man,  somewhat  intel- 
ligent; but  neither  he  nor  his  wife  could  read  or  write.  I  talked  to 
them  of  the  great  importance  of  preparing  to  meet  their  God;  for  in 
the  morning  a  man  might  go  out  in  perfect  health,  and  bejjrought  back 
to  his  family  in  an  hour's  time  a  mangled  corpse,  without  any  prepara- 
tion for  the  eternity  he  had  entered.  One  of  their  number  had  thus 
been  called  two  days  before.  They  assented  to  all  I  said.  After  supper 
a  number  of  navvies  came  in,  and  I  talked  to  them  all  about  their  soul's 
interest,  and  preparation  for.  sudden  death.  They  all  listened  with  pro- 
found attention.  I  read  some  for  them,  and  gave  those  who  could  read 
some  tracts,  for  which  they  thanked  me.  When  all  were  gone,  the 
woman  asked  me  if  I  could  write  a  letter.     I  smiled,  and  said  yes. 

"But,"  she  said,  I  mean  a  letter  to  aman  in  a  Government  office." 

I  said  I  could  do  that. 

"Then  will  you  write  a  letter  for  my  man?  He  can't  write,  and 
somebody  has  cheated  him,  and  told  stories  about  him  to  a  gentleman 
in  town,  and  we  wish  to  write  to  him  about  it;  but  we  can't,  and  we 
don't  like  to  get  any  one  here  to  do  it,  and  if  you  will  write  for  my 
man,  it  will  be  a  great  favor  to  us,  and  we  will  be  forever  obliged  to 
you." 

The  contractor  explained  his  difficulty,  and  it  might  have  ended  very 
seriously  for  him,  as  he  could  not  write  to  explain.  I  wrote  an  official 
letter,  which  delighted  the  troubled  contractor. 

Next  day,  bag  in  hand,  I  went  out  alone,  and  every  navvy  that  I 
met,  I  told  him  I  had  a  message  from  a  navvy  in  England,  who  died 
rejoicing  in  the  truth.     He  said: 

"Tell  every  man  you  meet  Christ  died  for  every  man.  Jesus  Christ 
died  for  every  man.  My  blessed,  blessed  Savior,  world  without  end, 
Amen,"  and  so  he  died. 

This  Jesus,  whom  Thomas  Ward  found  so  precious  to  his  soul,  I 
wish  to  tell  you  about,  and  so  I  deliver  his  last  message  to  you,  and  I 
have  come  all  the  way  from  Sydney  to  tell  it  you.     I  told  them  what 


THE  NEW  SYSTEM.  519 

Jesus  had  done  for  them,  and  invited  them  to  come  to  him.  He  would 
not  cast  them  out,  though  they  seemed  to  be  outcast  from  civihzed 
society.  I  came  to  a  group  of  Papists,  and  greeted  them  with  a  kind 
good-morning,  and  asked  if  any  of  them  could  read.  One  of  them 
turned  round,  and  with  an  oath  said, 

"What  is  that  to  you?" 

"If  so,  I  shall  give  you  something  to  read." 

One  cursed  me  for  a  heretic,  and  said : 

"Be  off  about  your  business." 

The  priest  had  warned  them  against  heretics,  for  they  wanted  to  con- 
vert people  from  the  true  church.  I  told  them  I  had  no  such  desire. 
I  had  come  all  the  way  from  Sydney  to  give  them  a  kind  message 
from  a  friend.  A  gentleman  told  me  not  to  come  amongst  you,  for 
you  would  insult  me;  but  I  said  no;  for  no  one  would  insult  another 
for  a  kind  message  being  carried  to  him  from  a  fellow  navvy. 

"I  have  come  out  here  alone,  and  trusted  myself  among  you;  now 
you  can  judge  for  yourself  whether  that  gentleman  or  myself  were  right 
in  our  opinion  of  you." 

These  hardy  sons  of  toil  softened  considerably  toward  me.  They 
apologized  in  various  ways,  but  made  the  priest  the  scape-goat.  I 
talked  to  them  about  the  dangerous  work  they  were  engaged  in;  how 
careful  they  ought  to  be,  and  how  they  ought  to  prepare  for  sudden 
death.  We  parted  very  good  friends.  A  soft  answer  turned  away 
the  wrath  of  these  men. 

I  next  came  to  a  young  man  sitting  alone,  with  a  very  handsome, 
intelligent  face.  I  asked  him  if  he  would  accept  of  a  few  tracts.  He 
rose  to  his  feet,  took  off  his  cap,  and  politely  said  that  he  could  not 
read;  that  he  was  a  Roman  Catholic,  and  that  the  priest  had  positively 
forbidden  him  to  read  heretical  works  of  any  kind. 

"I  may  not  accept  of  your  proffered  kindness,  ma'am." 

We  talked  some  time  together,  and  I  went  on  my  way.  I  saw  a  man 
sitting  on  a  rock  eating  luncheon,  with  a  sweet  little  girl  by  his  side. 
I  sat  down  beside  them,  and  began  to  talk  to  the  child.  I  asked  her 
if  she  could  read,  and  if  she  were  at  school,  and  "yes"  was  her  answer 
to  both  questions.  She  said  she  could  and  would  read  to  her  father 
the  books  I  gave  her,  and  he  looked  pleased.  With  but  one  excep- 
tion, I  met  with  civility  from  the  great  number  of  men  I  met  and  spoke 
to  that  day.  All  received  the  message  kindly,  and  accc2)ted  the  read- 
ing matter  thankfully,  except  the  Papists. 

At  the  school-house  the  master  was  in  waiting.     I  was  surprised  at 


520  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

the  number  of  children  who  were  enrolled  in  the  school.  The  teacher, 
a  very  civil,  gentlemanly  young  man,  was  glad  to  have  a  stranger  visit 
his  school,  and  take  an  interest  in  the  children.  He  gave  me  full  in- 
formation about  the  place  and  the  people,  and  the  difficulties  he  had 
to  contend  with.  I  could  sympathize  with  him.  I  examined  the  school 
furniture,  and  asked  him  his  method  of  teaching;  what  he  taught,  and 
how  many  classes  he  had;  all  of  which  queries  he  answered  politely 
and  promptly.  I  suggested  some  alteration  in  his  method  of  teaching, 
and  told  him  he  ought  to  have  some  more  maps  and  other  things.  He 
said  he  Avould  certainly  like  to  make  the  improvements  I  suggested, 
but  perhaps  the  Council  of  Education  would  not  approve  of  any  altera- 
tion in  his  methods,  as  an  inspector  had  given  him  his  instructions.  I 
said  I  had  the  opportunity  of  knowing  what  the  Council  of  Education 
required  in  their  schools,  and  if  he  acted  on  the  suggestions  I  gave,  he 
would  be  the  one  benefited.  He  asked  if  I  had  to  do  with  schools. 
I  said  I  had  to  do  with  one  country  school  like  his  own;  but  keeping 
up  with  the  improvements  of  the  day  as  far  as  possible,  I  was  ahead  of 
him.  I  also  told  him  a  new  inspector  might  visit  his  school,  and  see- 
ing him  so  far  behind,  might  suggest  his  removal,  and  put  a  more  ener- 
getic teacher  in  his  place.  On  the  other  hand,  if  they  see  you  are 
doing  your  best  under  unfavorable  circumstances  to  improve  your 
school,  the  Council  will  help  you.     He  said: 

'  'Your  advice  is  good ;  I  accept  it.  I  shall  write  to  Mr.  Wilkins 
and  tell  him  what  this  school  wants  in  material.  I  am  anxious  to  do 
all  I  can  for  the  school  in  accordance  with  the  way  the  Council  will 
most  approve." 

He  asked  if  I  would  carry  his  letter  to  the  secretary.  I  said  I 
would  not  only  carry  his  letter,  but  I  would  carry  a  good  report  of  his 
desire  to  please  the  Council  in  his  work.  He  seemed  perfectly  de- 
lighted that  I  took  such  an  interest  in  his  school.  By  obeying  the 
golden  rule  I  made  this  young  man's  heart  happy,  and  lightened  his 
burden,  and  it  cost  me  nothing  to  make  suggestions  to  him,  and  to 
carry  a  good  report  of  him  to  headquarters. 

I  next  visited  the  huts,  where  I  met  women  and  children.  All 
seemed  glad  to  see  me,  though  I  was  a  stranger  to  them.  They  were 
glad  to  have  me  sit  and  talk  to  them  about  their  eternal  interests.  I 
returned  to  the  contractor's,  where  a  number  of  navvies  were  waiting 
for  me,  to  hear  me  read  and  talk  to  them.  What  a  field  was  here  for 
cultivation,  I  thought.  These  people  stayed  late,  as  I  was  to  leave 
them  next  day.    I  asked  Mrs.  C what  I  owed  her  for  my  lodging. 


THE  NEW  SYSTEM.  $21 

She  said  she  was  too  glad  to  have  me  in  her  house,  to  think  ol  charg- 
ing me  anything.  I  parted  with  all  these  people  on  the  most  friendly 
terms,  with  a  prayer  that  the  seed  I  had  sown  broadcast  might  bring 
forth  fruit  in  time. 

When  I  reached  Mount  Victoria  I  found  my  dress  had  another  black 
stripe  to  correspond  with  the  first  I  got  on  the  little  locomotive.  All 
along  the  road  from  Mount  Victoria  I  threw  tracts  to  the  brakemen 
from  the  cars.  At  one  of  the  switches  we  stopped  some  time,  and  I 
watched  the  brakeman  at  work,  and  thought  of  the  disastrous  conse- 
quences to  the  train  did  he  neglect  his  duty.  How  important  to  have 
trustworthy  men  at  the  post.  I  was  so  absorbed  that  I  did  not  notice 
the  brakeman  take  off  his  cap,  and  he  stood  uncovered  some  time  ere 
I  recognized  the  Dane  whom  I  had  seen  before.  I  was  glad  to  see 
him.  He  reported  his  mate  and  himself  as  well  and  doing  v/ell.  I 
was  glad  to  hear  this. 

As  soon  as  I  arrived  in  the  city  I  called  on  the  gentleman  to  whom 
the  contractor  wrote.  I  asked  if  the  business  of  the  letter  had  been 
attended  to.     He  said  he  was  just  then  attending  to  it. 

"But  why  did  he  not  write  sooner?  He  very  nearly  lost  the  job  by 
putting  it  off  so  long." 

"Because  the  poor  man  can  not  write,"  I  said. 

"Well,  that  letter  that  was  written  has  saved  him;  had  I  not  re- 
ceived it  at  the  time  I  should  have  had  another  in  his  place.  To- 
morrow he  will  hear  from  me." 

I  was  glad  that  I  had  been  able  to  serve  this  poor  man  and  his  fam- 
ily. My  visit  to  the  mountains  had  not  been  useless,  but  profitable  to 
others  as  well  as  beneficial  to  myself.  I  went  to  the  Department  of 
Education,  delivered  the  teacher's  letter,  and  told  Mr.  Wilkins  what  I 
had  suggested  to  improve  his  method  of  teaching.  He  was  interested, 
and  asked  many  questions  about  the  school  and  the  teacher. 

"Was  he  a  suitable  man  for  the  place?" 

I  thought  he  was;  but  he  ought  to  have  a  better  set  of  school 
apparatus.  I  said  I  believed  him  a  faithful  worker,  and  the  people 
spoke  well  of  him.     Mr.  Wilkins  laughed,  and  said : 

"Few  ladies  have  spent  their  holidays  as  you  have  done.  You  have 
done  us  a  service ;  you  have  done  the  work  of  an  inspector,  and  have 
saved  the  visit  of  one." 

I  returned  to  my  work  refreshed  in  body  and  in  mind.  I  did  not 
feel  the  utter  lonesomencss  of  my  situation  as  I  did  two  or  tliree  years 
before.     I  had  more  time  to  read,  and  when  I  had  a  holiday  I  ran 


522  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

away  as  far  and  fast  as  I  could  in  an  express  train.  I  was  walking  up 
King  Street  one  day  when  a  well-dressed  woman  thus  addressed  me 
as  she  passed  me : 

"So  you  do  not  know  me.  I  must  have  changed  greatly  since  you 
saw  me  last." 

She  turned  and  looked  in  my  face,  then  crossed  the  street.  I  did 
not  recognize  her ;  but  only  one  woman  would  address  me  in  this  way, 
I  thought,  and  I  crossed  the  street  after  her  to  ascertain  who  she  was. 

I  asked  if  she  were  Mrs.  B,  W ?  She  turned  to  me  with  a  frown, 

and  said : 

"Do  you  pretend  not  to  know  me?" 

"I  made  no  pretense?"  I  said. 

Thdn  she  said:   "I  am  your  sister." 

"I  do  not  pretend  to  have  a  sister;  are  you  Mrs.  B.  W ?" 

"Yes,  I  am  Mrs.  B.  W ;  don't  you  know  that?" 

"It  matters  little  whether  I  know  it  or  not;  I  want  nothing  from 
you;  I  am  quite  able  now  to  get  along  without  you." 

"It  is  very  well  for  you  to  say  you  do  not  know  me,  now  that  I  am 
poor,"  she  rejoined. 

I  told  her  that  I  did  not  know  she  was  poor,  for  when  I  saw  her  last 
she  was  rolling  in  plenty,  in  possession  of  houses  and  land,  and  her 
husband  was  in  a  large  and  prosperous  business ;  and  then  they  drove 
me  from  their  home  friendless,  penniless,  a  homeless  stranger,  to  wan- 
der where  I  listed. 

*  'You  had,  under  false  pretenses  and  promises,  induced  me  to  leave 
a  happy  home,  friends,  and  all  that  I  valued,  to  come  to  you,  and 
you  violated  every  promise  you  made  to  me,  and  laughed  at  my  cre- 
dulity, and  then  at  midnight  I  had  to  turn  from  the  door  of  your  in- 
hospitable mansion  to  seek  shelter  from  strangers.  But  the  God  whom 
I  trust  took  care  of  me;  as  he  feeds  the  ravens,  so  he  fed  me,  and  has 
ever  since  protected  me  under  his  sheltering  wing.  I  freely  forgive 
you  for  all  your  cruelty  to  me,  but  you  have  forever  broken  the  kin- 
dred tie  that  bound  us.  You  have  destroyed  the  feelings  of  my  heart 
which  would  have  enabled  me  to  devote  my  life  to  you  and  yours. 
They  are  dead  within  me ;  you  killed  them.  But  you  said  you  were 
poor;  how  can  that  be  ?" 

She  said  her  husband  had  gambled  all  their  property  away,  then 
went  to  the  gold  diggings,  and  was  never  heard  from  since.  She 
heard  he  was  dead.  I  said,  poverty  is  no  disgrace  if  you  are  living 
respectably.     I  will  visit  you  sometimes.     I  walked  with  her  to  hei 


THE  NEW  SYSTEM.  523 

place  of  abode,  which  was  a  neat  little  cottage  in  a  retired  part  of  the 
city.  It  was  well-furnished  from  the  wreck  of  her  prosperity,  and 
from  said  wreck  she  had  saved  a  little  money,  the  interest  of  which 
and  some  sewing  she  did  paid  her  rent  and  supplied  her  wants.  Her 
circumstances  had  changed  from  receiving  large  rents,  to  having  to 
pay  rent.  I  pitied  her.  She  said  her  little  girl  had  to  be  fed  and 
clothed  and  educated  out  of  her  small  income.  I  told  her  I  would 
give  her  child  a  comfortable  home,  and  clothe  and  educate  her,  if  she 
were  willing  to  give  her  up  to  me.  I  took  the  puny,  sickly  child  of 
seven  years  with  me  to  the  bush  for  a  week,  for  a  change,  and  to  see 
how  she  would  like  a  permanent  change.  When  I  took  her  home  I 
was  told  that  I  could  have  her  on  condition  that  I  should  give  her 
breakfast  in  bed,  let  her  lie  till  ten,  give  her  lunch  at  eleven,Cand  let 
her  eat  at  any  and  at  all  times.  I  replied,  that  pity  for  her  sickly 
child  had  prompted  me  to  give  her  a  home  in  the  country,  and  apart 
from  the  impossibility  of  obeying  her  injunctions,  my  purpose  in  re- 
gard to  the  child  was  to  break  up  and  root  out  all  those  pernicious 
habits. 

''Are  you  willing  for  her  to  go?  If  so,  my  conditions  are,  that  she 
shall  go  to  bed  as  a  child  ought  at  seven  o'clock,  not  twelve  or  one  as 
has  been  her  habit,  and  rise  at  seven.  She  will  eat  what  I  eat,  and 
when  I  eat;  her  habits  must  be  regular  to  give  her  health;  and  instead 
of  never  going  near  the  fire  lest  she  burn  herself,  she  must  learn  to 
take  care  of  herself,  and  make  fires,  and  prepare  food  and  many  other 
things  that  will  be  useful  to  her  in  this  world." 

She  granted  the  child  permission  to  come  with  me  after  giving  her 
private  instructions.  I  took  her  home,  and  she  proved  a  thorn  in  the 
flesh  to  me.  My  home  was  finished  and  furnished  so  I  could  and  did 
make  the  child  comfortable,  but  I  had  still  to  go  to  Sydney  for  my 
provisions  on  Saturday,  so  I  took  her  to  see  her  mother  every  time  I 
went  to  town,  and  she  met  me  at  the  ferry  on  my  return.  When  I 
told  her  to  do  anything  she  would  reply, 

"My  mother  told  me  not  to  do  it,  and  she  told  me  not  to  do  this 
and  not  to  do  that." 

She  was  not  fond  of  books.  In  school  she  was  a  rebellious  subject, 
and  set  a  bad  example  to  the  other  children.  Sometimes  she  would 
take  a  whole  day  to  do  some  little  thing  that  I  asked  her  to  do,  but 
she  had  to  do  it,  just  because  I  had  told  her  to  do  it.  I  was  kind  to 
her,  but  she  had  to  obey;  I  was  firm,  but  she  was  a  great  torment  to 
me.     I  took  her  home  to  her  mother,  and  told  her  to  keep  her  at 


524  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

home;  for  the  orders  she  gave  her  to  disobey  me  conflicted  with  mine  ; 
I  expected  obedience  in  my  own  house.  I  had  no  wish  to  keep  her; 
I  was  under  no  obhgation  to  do  so. 

"Her  cunning  and  deceitful  ways  are  past  finding  out,  and  are  ex- 
ceedingly distasteful  to  me;  and  as  you  do  not  appreciate  my  efforts 
to  save  your  child,  you  can  keep  her  with  you.  I  can  get  others  who 
are  capable  of  appreciating  the  advantages,  and  who  will  gladly  and 
thankfully  receive  them  and  give  me  no  trouble." 

The  girl  voluntarily  came  back  to  me,  and  said  she  would  rather 
live  with  me  than  live  in  town.  She  said  she  would  obey  me,  and  try 
to  be  good ;  she  wanted  to  be  good  and  go  to  heaven,  and  she  could 
not  be  good  in  town;  and  would  I  please  to  take  her  back ;  she  would 
try  andl^ive  no  trouble.  Poor  child,  I  could  not  resist  her  appeal.  I 
took  her  to  my  home  and  heart  again.  After  this  we  had  a  butcher 
and  baker  to  come  to  North  Sydney  twice  a  week,  and  I  did  not  take 
her  so  often  to  town.  She  began  to  improve.  At  our  morning  and 
evening  worship  she  would  read  a  chapter  and  I  would  pray,  and  we 
were  very  happy.  She  became  very  useful,  was  my  little  housekeep- 
er, and  was  my  right-hand  litde  maiden,  an  early  riser,  and  a  very 
fair  student. 

After  receiving  a  letter  from  Brother  M ,  I  had  serious  thoughts 

of  going  to  Adelaide  instead  of  going  to  America.  I  felt  that  now  a 
successor  could  be  found  to  step  into  my  place.  I  resigned  my  posi- 
tion to  leave  the  colony,  and  I  had  to  leave  the  child  with  her  mother, 
who  now  had  very  bad  health,  and  would  realize  the  benefit  of  the 
four  years'  training  I  had  given  her  child.  I  had  provided  the  child 
with  everything  that  could  be  useful  to  her  for  years  to  come.  I  pro- 
vided means  for  her  mother  to  set  up  in  business.  All  I  could  do 
for  both  I  did,  and  then  I  left  them  in  God's  hand,  hoping  the  child 
would  be  a  blessing  to  the  sick  mother.  On  board  ship,  when  about 
to  sail  from  Sydney,  the  following  note  was  handed  to  me : 

I  shall  from  this  day  live  a  new  life.  I  shall  bless  you  while  I  live  for  what 
you  have  done  for  me  and  mine.  I  intend  to  live  for  another  world,  as  I  do  not 
think  I  shall  live  long  in  this  one.  I  do  not  think  we  shall  ever  meet  again  in 
this  world.     Farewell !     God  bless  you.  Yours,  B. 

When  I  tendered  my  resignation  to  the  Council  of  Education,  they 
gave  me  a  very  handsome  testimonial,  which  I  highly  appreciated. 
The  secretary  told  me  that  I  was  the  first  teacher  who  had  left  the 
service  who  had  ever  received  a  testimonial,  and  that  I  was  highly 


THE  NEW  SYSTEM.  52-5 

coniplimented  by  the  fact.  It  was  compliment  enough  to  have  been 
retained  so  long  in  the  service,  but  he  said,  and  so  said  the  testimo- 
nial, that  I  had,  under  very  trying  circumstances,  provided  for  the 
present  and  future  education  of  a  very  destitute  locality  through  hard- 
ships, privations,  hard  work  and  great  self-denial.  Mr.  Wilkins,  Mr. 
Gardener  and  Mr.  Forbes  had  been  my  stanch  friends  throughout  my 
bush  career.  I  had  always  enjoyed  their  sympathy  and  encourage- 
ment. I  said  I  felt  highly  honored  by  the  appreciation  and  confi- 
dence of  the  Council  of  Education,  as  the  first  and  greatest  men  in 
the  colony  composed  it.  My  home  had  become  very  desirable.  My 
trees  and  vines  that  I  had  planted  were  laden  with  fruit,  and  promised 
Soon  to  bring  forth  an  abundant  crop.  But  I  had  no  Christian  society. 
I  had  been  living  in  the  midst  of  a  desert  of  mind  for  eight  years,  and 
I  had  been  several  times  prevented  from  going  to  America.  I  now 
wished  to  go  to  Adelaide.  There  a  Christian  Church  had  been  estab- 
lished, with  an  American  preacher.  There  I  hoped  to  enjoy  the 
society  of  Christians  of  my  own  way  of  thinking,  and  be  in  a  church 
whose  creed  was  the  Bible  alone.  I  appreciated  all  the  good  things  I 
had  now ;  but  I  was  willing  to  sacrifice  them  all  for  the  sake  of  Chris- 
tian society  and  church  privileges.  Perhaps  in  South  Australia  I 
might  pioneer  another  work  for  others  to  reap  the  benefit.  Mr.  Wil- 
kins thought  I  was  very  foolish  to  give  up  a  good  home,  a  good  salary 
and  good  friends  for  the  reasons  given.  The  Hon.  (now  Sir)  Henry 
Parkes,  Colonial  Secretary,  and  President  of  the  Council  of  Education, 
told  me,  on  saying  good-bye  to  me  the  day  I  left  the  colony,  that  from 
the  day  I  had  entered  the  service  of  the  Council  to  the  present,  I  had 
the  high  appreciation,  the  warmest  sympathy  and  the  fullest  confidence 
of  every  member  of  the  Council.     He  said : 

"You  are  leaving  us,  and  if  it  be  any  pleasure  to  you  to  know  what 
we  think  of  you,  I  tell  you,  and  I  hope  where  you  are  going  you  will 
find  friends  who  will  appreciate  you  as  we  do." 

This  was  a  very  unexpected  speech,  so  full  of  kindness,  that  I  felt  a 
choking  sensation,  and  could  not  answer  him ;  I  could  only  bow  my 
profound  thanks,  and  we  parted. 

The  bush  in  which  I  had  fought  my  way  was  now  a  thriving  village. 
Three  of  my  first  night  scholars  had  married  and  two  had  become  teach- 
ers. I  had  given  them  extra  training,  and  they  had  secured  schools. 
All  of  those  scholars  who  had  been  a  terror  to  me  at  first,  were  doing 
well;  all  respectably  employed,  well-behaved  and  good  citizens;  hav- 
ing classes  in  Sunday-school,  and  leading  moral  and  religious  lives. 


526  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

All  the  people  were  prospering  in  their  own  spheres.  I  had  for  eight 
long  years  been  paying  my  vows  unto  the  Lord.  I  had  tried  to  serve 
him  more  faithfully ;  I  had  gone  to  a  place  where  no  one  else  would 
go ;  I  had  worked  where  no  one  else  would  work ;  I  proved  the  sin- 
cerity of  my  vows  by  fulfilling  them  to  the  letter.  I  handed  over  the 
property  to  the  trustees  to  hold  in  trust  for  the  people's  use  as  a  school- 
house  and  chapel,  and  a  teacher's  residence.  Everything  was  finished 
and  paid  for.  I  closed  my  work  at  North  Sydney,  December  31,  1869, 
and  went  to  Sydney  to  prepare  for  the  voyage  to  South  Australia.  I 
bade  all  my  friends  farewell  ere  I  went  on  board  the  ship. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

THIRD  VOYAGE  TO   SOUTH  AUSTRALIA,  AND   TEACHING  IN  ADELAIDE. 

I  SAILED  on  the  steamship  Ybu  Yangs,  February  7,  1870.  The 
ship  was  full  of  passengers,  and  the  day  being  fine,  I  stayed  on  deck 
as  long  as  I  could.  I  noticed  a  pretty  young  lady,  dressed  in  black, 
walking  up  and  down  in  a  very  restless  manner.  The  captain  had  a 
litde  lookout  seat,  without  support  to  feet  or  back,  projecting  from  the 
outside  of  the  bulwarks.  This  pretty  woman  climbed  the  bulwarks 
and  sat  down  on  this  seat.  At  every  roll  of  the  ship  the  waves  splashed 
her  feet.  She  seemed  unconscious  of  her  great  danger.  One  of  the 
ofiEicers  gave  her  in  charge  of  the  stewardess,  and  she  was  taken  down 
to  the  cabin.  Ere  night  set  in,  we  had  what  the  sailors  called  a  "twis- 
ter." When  we  went  down  to  tea  the  tables  were  adorned  with  the 
storm-guards.  Drinking  tea  in  a  rolling  ship  is  a  sloppy  business.  I 
left  the  table  and  wen<-  on  deck  again.  The  ship  was  rolling,  pitch- 
ing, tossing,  leaping,  falling,  and  fairly  writhing,  like  to  a  living  being 
in  mortal  agony.  The  sea  formed  before  us  as  it  were  a  basin  of 
great  depth,  with  brim  of  foam,  and  the  water  inside  of  it  in  a  whirl, 
first  one  way,  then  another.  The  ship  fairly  leaped  in  this  basin. 
"O  Father,"  I  cried,  "we  are  going  to  the  bottom!" 
I  felt  as  if  the  ship  was  leaving  me.  I  sprang  to  my  feet,  and  I  lost 
my  breath  for  a  few  seconds,  until  the  ship  mounted  the  wave  on  the 
other  side.  This  was  more  like  a  whirlpool  than  anything  I  had  ever 
seen  at  sea.  The  sky  was  growing  inky  black.  The  sea  was  lashed 
into  foam  as  white  as  snow.  The  waves  rushing  from  south  to  north, 
and  the  wind  blowing  from  east  to  west  a  perfect  hurricane.  The 
ship,  subjected  to  this  cross  action,  went  pitching  on  in  semi-circular 
jerks,  deadly  to  see  and  feel.  This  cross  sea,  or  chopping  sea,  is  ter- 
rible on  a  ship.  It  was  truly  a  "twister."  It  twisted  the  ship  vigor- 
ously, and  our  stomachs  were  nearly  twisted  out  of  us  ere  we  could 
reach  our  cabins  and  lay  our  heads  on  our  pillows.  All  that  night 
I  was  so  sick  I  was  indifferent  to  the  storrn.  Next  day  the  storm 
al)ated,  but  the  five  ladies  who  occupied  the  ladies'  cabin  were  too 
sick  to  get  up.     The  berth  opposite  to  me  was  occupied  by  a  young 

(527) 


528  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

married  lady  and  lier  baby.  She  was  going  to  visit  friends  at  Mel- 
bourne. In  the  berth  above  her  was  the  lady  in  black,  whose  manner 
was  so  strange.  The  young  mother  had  to  leave  the  cabin  with  her 
babe  for  a  few  minutes.  While  she  was  gone  the  woman  in  black 
called  to  me,  and  said  there  were  on  board  a  number  of  men  who  had 
determined  to  kill  some  of  the  ladies,  and  one  of  them  ^Yas  that  young 
mother.  She  said  she  was  in  the  secret,  but  she  would  give  her  no 
warning,  for  she  hated  her.  I  told  the  stewardess  the  woman  in  black 
ought  to  be  watched,  for  she  was  dangerous.  A  berth  was  prepared 
for  her  in  the  next  compartment  of  the  ladies'  cabin,  where  she  had  it 
all  to  herself.  The  stewardess  said  my  fears  were  idle ;  nothing  ailed 
the  woman;  she  would  stay  with  her.  All  on  board  save  the  watch 
had  retired.  I  could  not  sleep.  My  eyes  were  riveted  on  a  curtain 
that  hung  between  the  ladies'  two  compartments.  I  saw  it  moved  on 
one  side,  and  a  crouching  figure  crept  in.  Two  eyes  of  fire  were  glaring 
and  staring  on  vacancy.  The  head  turned  first  on  one  side,  then 
the  other,  as  if  looking  for  something,  and  a  voice  said,  in  a  sepul- 
chral tone, 

"They  sleep;  'tis  well.  Now  is  the  time  to  strike  home." 
When,  oh,  horror!  her  hand  was  raised,  and  in  it  a  knife  gleamed 
in  the  lamplight,  and  the  figure  advanced  a  step.  Up  to  this  moment 
I  was  motionless  and  voiceless;  but  now  I  sprang  to  my  feet,  dragging 
my  bed-cover  round  me,  shook  and  roused  the  sleeping  ladies,  took 
the  sleeping  child  from  the  sleeping  mother,  and  almost  dragged  her 
out  of  her  bed,  and  rushed  to  the  public  saloon,  ere  the  maniac 
could  do  any  damage.  Here  stood  a  group  of  women  in  their  night 
robes  in  the  public  saloon  in  terror  for  their  lives  from  the  murderous 
dagger  of  a  mad  woman.  We  soon  gave  the  alarm  and  called  the 
stewardess,  but  she  could  not  be  found,  and  the  maniac  was  raging 
through  our  cabin.  Some  gentlemen  heard  the  uproar  and  came  out  to 
see  what  was  the  matter.  When  they  could  take  in  the  situation,  they 
brought  cloaks  and  rugs  to  cover  the  shivering  female  forms.  I  had 
my  bed-cover  wrapped  around  the  sleeping  child  and  myself.  Sev- 
eral of  the  gentlemen  kindly  offered  us  their  rooms,  and  they  would 
stay  on  deck  all  night.  I  positively  refused  to  deprive  the  gentlemen 
of  their  beds,  but  I  wished  the  crazy  woman  to  be  secured,  and  we 
could  go  to  our  own  berths.  The  captain  said  it  would  be  unlawful  to 
lock  her  up.  We  suggested  that  he  would  keep  her  company  all  night, 
as  he  did  not  think  her  at  all  dangerous.  We  were  afraid  of  her.  He 
said  the  stewardess  could  keep  her  company,  but  she  could  not  be 


THIRD  VOYAGE  TO  SOUTH  AUSTRALIA,  TEACHING  IN  ADELAIDE.     529 

found,  and  when  she  did  put  in  an  appearance,  her  head  Avas  in  a 
bandage.  The  woman  in  black,  whom  she  had  declared  harmless, 
had,  while  she  lay  with  her  head  on  a  box  asleep,  taken  her  head  be- 
tween her  hands  and  knocked  it  on  the  corner  till  it  was  severely  cut 
and  bruised.  She  positively  refused  to  go  near  the  mad  woman. 
While  the  maniac  and  her  tricks  were  being  discussed,  out  she  rushed, 
brandishing  her  deadly  weapon.  This  was  quickly  taken  from  her. 
She  seized  a  pitcher  of  water  and  threw  it  over  a  gentleman,  and 
rushed  out  and  in  from  one  gentleman's  cabin  to  another,  pulling  their 
beds  about  and  turning  everything  topsy-turvy,  and  using  the  most 
profane  language  imaginable ;  and  there  the  captain  sat  perfectly  in- 
different as  to  our  fears  or  discomforts.  One  of  the  gentlemen  at  last 
said,  the  maniac  must  either  be  secured  or  watched ;  the  security  and 
safety  of  the  passengers  demanded  it,  and  the  steward  was  ordered  to 
keep  watch  over  her.  He  was  a  great  strong  man,  but  he  said  he 
would  never  undertake  such  another  job.  The  maniac  kept  the  pas- 
sengers in  dread  till  she  was  given  to  her  friends  at  Melbourne. 

Just  before  I  left  New  South  Wales,  I  met  Brother  Earl  and  young 
Brother  Alexander  Magarey  en  route  for  America.  I  had  talked  so 
much  to  my  friends  everywhere  about  Bethany  and  Mr.  Campbell, 
that  our  young  brother  had  a  great  desire  to  visit  the  scene  of  Mr. 
Campbell's  great  labors  and  death.     I  said  to  him  ere  we  parted, 

"You  will  likely  see  the  grave  where  our  hero  lies  buried." 

"Yes;  but  I  would  rather  have  heard  the  great  and  good  old  man 
when  he  was  alive,  than  to  see  the  place  where  he  lies  silent,"  he  said. 

In  writing  to  Mrs.  Campbell,  I  said:  "Perhaps  you  Avill  have  seen 
my  young  friend  ere  this  reaches  you;  if  not,  I  hope  you  will  give  him 
all  the  information  he  thirsts  for.  Our  young  brother  is  quite  enthu- 
siastic at  the  idea  of  visiting  Bethany,  and  I  hope  he  will  return  with 
as  much.     He  is  just  at  the  age  when  lasting  impressions  are  made." 

This  remark  has  proved  a  true  prophecy;  for  a  young  lady  at  Bethany 
made  a  lasting  impression  on  his  mind  and  heart.  A  few  years  after 
he  made  another  pilgrimage  to  Bethany,  married  the  young  lady,  and 
took  her  to  his  own  sunny  home  in  the  Great  South  Land.  Two  of 
the  American  Evangelists  have  married  Australian  ladies,  and  the  peo- 
ple, who  but  a  few  years  ago  were  unknown  to  each  other,  were  now 
being  linked  by  the  strongest  tics. 

I  remained  at  Melbourne  two  weeks;  visited  the  different  places  of 
interest  and  old  friends,  and  also  the  two  American  Evangelists,  Breth- 
34 


530  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

ren  Surber  and  Carr.     jNIrs.  Carr  had  a  school,  and  was  doing  well.    I 

was  so  glad   to  meet  Americans.     I  met  Silvanus  M ,  Brother 

M 's  second  son,  who  was  studying  at  the  university  for  the  med- 
ical profession.  When  I  was  on  board  the  ship  ready  to  start,  he  came 
on  board,  and  introduced  to  me  Mr.  H.  Bundey,  a  noble-looking  gen- 
tleman, who  was  going  to  Adelaide.    Nothing  of  importance  transpired 

on  this  voyage.     Mr.  B was  exceedingly  attentive  and  kind  to  me, 

when  Ave  had  recovered  from  our  sea-sickness,  and  were  once  more  on 

deck.     When  I  landed  at  Port  Adelaide,  Mr.  B took  me  to  the 

train,  and  when  we  arrived  at  Adelaide,  he  handed  me  over  to  Sister 

M ,  who  was  waiting  for  me  at  the  terminus,  and  took  me  to  her 

seaside  residence  at  Glenely.     Brother,  M was  not  at  home;  but 

when  he  returned,  he  gave  me  a  cordial  welcome.     I  discovered  while 

resting  here,  that  Brother  M ,  like  Brother  Campbell,  was  given  to 

hospitality. 

I  had  a  delightful  visit  to  Lindsay  Park,  the  home  of  my  old  and 
venerated  friend  Mr.  Angas.  His  country  home  is  sixty  miles  from 
Adelaide,  and  the  two  days'  drive  over  the  mountains  in  a  coach  was 
delightful.  My  reception  by  Mr.  Angas  was  all  that  I  could  desire, 
and  while  I  was  his  guest,  he  was  exceedingly  attentive  and  kind.  His 
two  daughters,  Mrs.  Hannay  and  Mrs.  Evans,  were  very  agreeable 
ladies.  We  had  many  friendly  discussions,  among  others  one  on  Ro- 
manism, and  its  evil  effects.  Mr.  Angas  had  a  very  decided  aversion  to 
that  system  of  religion.  He  asked  me  if  I  would  open  a  school  some- 
thing like  the  one  I  had  in  New  South  Wales,  and,  as  far  as  was  possi- 
ble, counteract  the  evils  of  PvOmanism,  where  the  Papists  were  trying 
to  lay  hold  of  all  children  by  their  cheap  schools.  I  told  him  I  had 
been  thinking  of  doing  so. 

"Well,  I  shall  help  you,"  said  the  old  gentleman. 

After  a  pleasant  visit  to  the  Park,  I  returned  by  railway  to  Adelaide. 

At  Hindmarsh,  a  suburb  of  Adelaide,   I  opened   school  for  poor 

children  of  all  denominations.     A  few  friends,  with  Mr.  M at  the 

head  of  the  list,  subscribed  money  to  help  buy  school  apparatus.  I 
had  a  genteel  boarding-house,  but  it  was  at  an  inconvenient  distance 
from  the  school.  The  school-room  I  found  too  small  for  the  number 
of  children  in  attendance,  and  my  long  walk  to  and  from  school  was  a 
great  hindrance  to  my  work.  My  road  lay  across  a  railway,  and  one 
'day  as  I  was  crossing  it,  not  knowing  train  time,  nor  looking  or  thinking 
about  it,  when  a  train  at  full  speed  whizzed  past  me,  and  drew  my  dress 
nearly  in  among  the  wheels.     I  gave  a  spring  forward,  caught  hold  of 


^  THIRD  VOYAGE  TO  SOUTH  AUSTRALIA,  TEACHING  IN  ADELAIDE.     53 1 

a  fence  till  I  recovered  from  the  fright,  and  then  went  on  my  way. 
This  experience  taught  me  a  lesson.  Another  day  I  had  crossed  the 
railway,  when  I  saw  coming  from  different  directions  six  pillars  of  dust 
whirling  around.  I  stood  and  watched,  thinking  to  see  them  converge 
on  a  plain  before  me,  over  which  I  had  to  pass.  While  I  stood  one 
struck  me  with  great  violence,  and  drove  me  agai.nst  a  wall.  It  broke 
against  the  wall,  and  fell  with  a  heavy  shower  of  gravel  and  dust, 
nearly  smothering  me.  I  could  neither  see  nor  move  for  some  time. 
After  this  deluge  of  dust,  I  thought  I  had  to  look  out  for  more  than  the 
train.     These  whirlwinds  of  dust  are  very  common  in  South  Australia. 

Mrs.  Wm.  Magarey,  who  with  her  husband  had  visited  me  in  my 
bush  home  in  New  South  Wajes,  was  a  sister  to  my  shipmate,  Mr. 
Bundey,  and  their  mother,  a  very  interesting,  intelligent  old  lady,  was 
an  invalid,  and  staying  at  her  daughter's  house  while  she  and  her  hus- 
band were  on  a  trip  to  England.  Their  house  lay  on  my  way  to  school, 
and  often  I  called  to  see  the  invalid  to  cheer  her  up.  She  hailed  my 
visits  with  joy,  and  I  always  left  her  bedside  benefited  by  my  visit. 

This  reciprocated  pleasure  was  enjoyed  till  Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  M 

came  home;  then  my  visits  were  not  necessary,  nor  so  frequent.    Mrs. 

W.  M never  forgot  my  kindness  to  her  mother,  nor  while  memory 

holds  her  empire  in  my  heart,  shall  I  forget  her  kindness  to  me.  Mrs. 
H.  Bundey  also  was  exceedingly  kind  to  me,  and  to  these  two  lovely 
sisters-in-law  I  owe  much  of  the  happiness  I  had  while  I  sojourned  in 
South  Australia. 

When  Mr.  Earl  and  Mr.  A.  M returned  with   Mr.  and  Mrs. 

W.  M ,  Mr.  Earl  resumed  his  labors  in  the  city,  where  Mr.  Gore 

had  supplied  his  place  while  he  was  absent,  and  Mr.  Gore  preached  at 
a  suburban  chapel. 

Meantime,  Mr.  Angas  had  bought  the  site  of  a  flouring  mill  tliat  had 
burned,  had  removed  the  debris,  and  converted  a  large  stone  granary 
into  a  school-house,  with  a  convenient  gallery  for  young  cliildren.  He 
built  a  neat  cottage  for  me;  had  a  high  stone  wall  erected  all  around 
the  premises  except  in  front,  where  it  had  a  palisade  fence.  There 
was  a  large  play-ground,  with  swings,  etc.  When  the  school-house 
was  ready,  I  moved  my  school  into  it.  Several  small  schools  in  the 
neighborhood  were  swallowed  up  by  the  large  one.  They  were  small 
and  inefficient,  and  could  not  supply  the  needs  of  the  people.  A  young 
lady,  who  had  one  of  these  schools,  was  dependent  upon  it  for  a  living, 
and  when  it  closed,  she  was  placed  in  my  school  as  an  assistant,  at  a 
salary  from  Mr.  Angas.     I  paid  all  my  other  assistants.      Mr.  Angas 


532  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE.  . 

paid  for  the  tuition  of  fifty  children  who  could  not  pay  for  themselves, 
and  those  who  could  pay  gave  a  little. 

While  the  cottage  was  building,  Mr.  Angas  kindly  invited  me  to 
to  take  up  my  abode  at  Prospect  Hall,  his  town  residence,  he  being  at 

his  country  home,  Lindsay  Park.      Mr.  A 's  money  accomplished 

in  a  very  short  time,  what  it  took  me  years  to  accomplish  without  money 
at  North  Sydney.  When  I'  began  work  in  my  new  sphere,  I  felt  that 
brain  and  nerve  power  were  needed  to  work  up  this  strong,  hard,  rough 
and  raw  material,  which  was  very  troublesome  to  handle.  This  part 
of  the  work  money  could  not  perform.  On  the  morning  I  opened  my 
new  school,  about  seventy  or  eighty  boys  and  girls  were  whooping  and 
hallooing  in  the  play-ground.  I  stood  »in  the  open  door,  preparing  to 
arrange  them  for  marching  into  the  room,  when  I  was  driven  back  to 
the  middle  of  the  room  by  a  perfect  avalanche  of  great  boys,  dashing 
pellmell  over  one  another,  and  all  rushing  to  the  gallery  to  obtain 
seats.  Those  persons,  who  saw  the  boys  tumbling  in  over  me,  thought 
it  impossible  that  I  could  tame  or  subdue  such  turbulent  spirits,  or  bring 
order  out  of  such  confusion.  It  was  thought  that  this  troop  of  wild 
street  Arabs  was  untamable  and  unmanageable.  I  thought,  as  I  waited 
for  them  to  be  seated,  here  is  a  great  work  for  me,  God  help  me  to 
try,  was  my  prayer,  and  in  his  strength  I  went  to  work,  remembering 
Mr.  Campbell's  precept,  "Attempt  great  things,  expect  great  things, 
and  great  things  will  follow."  I  stood  perfectly  still,  while  they  all 
clambered  over  each  other,  and  over  the  gallery  seats,  instead  of  up  the 
steps.  At  last  they  looked  at  me,  and  when  they  became  perfectly  still, 
I  addressed  them  thus : 

"Boys,  you  have  never  been  to  a  lady's  school ;  but  seeing  so  many 
of  you  here,  I  think  you  wish  to  come  to  mine,  and  I  think  you  wish 
to  be  on  time,  as  all  of  you  were  in  haste  to  secure  your  seats.  This 
is  so  far  good.  The  first  thing,  however,  that  you  have  to  learn  is 
obedience;  then  to  walk  into  the  school  in  order,  and  quietly.  Now 
all  of  you  rise,  and  first  this  row,  then  that,  come  down  the  steps,  and 
walk  out  to  the  play-ground,  where  I  shall  give  you  your  first  lesson." 

They  came  down,  walked  out  in  single  file  to  the  play-grounds,  and  I 
followed,  and  arranged  them.  Having  examined  the  face  and  hands  of 
every  one,  to  see  if  they  were  clean,  I  marched  them  to  their  seats  in 
good  order.  The  novelty  of  my  movements  kept  them  quiet  for  the 
moment.  But  they  were  full  of  mischief,  and  were  ever  ready  to  burst 
out  in  a  new  place.  It  was  a  most  difficult  matter  to  interest  and  con- 
trol this  mass  of  humanity,  till  I  enrolled,  and  classified,  and  organized 


THIRD  VOYAGE  TO  SOUTH  AUSTRALIA,  TEACHING  IX  ADELAIDE.      533 

them  after  the  model  of  my  former  school.  The  system  adopted  by 
the  Council  of  Education  was  entirely  new  to  the  colony,  but  I  intro- 
duced it.  A  Government  inspector  visited  my  school  while  I  was 
organizing  it,  and  spoke  highly  of  the  method.  A  gentleman  from  a 
model  school  under  the  Council  of  Education  was  sent  for,  to  open  for 
Government  in  Adelaide  a  school  after  the  model  of  those  in  New 
South  Wales.  Now  they  have  many  first-class  schools,  with  trained 
teachers  at  their  head,  and  in  a  flourishing  condition. 

In  two  weeks  I  had  my  school  thoroughly  organized,  and  in  working 
order.  I  hoped  that  my  assistants  would  help  me  to  quell  rising  storms, 
when  they  saw  them  looming ^in  the  distance,  but  this  they  were  not 
able  to  do;  consequently,  when  they  allowed  disorder  in  their  classes, 
my  nerve  power  was  always  strained  to  its  utmost  endurance.  I  was 
desirous  that  my  school  should  be  a  blessing  to  the  neighborhood. 
The  class  of  children  who  came  to  it  were  not  only  the  lowest  and 
poorest,  but  the  most  vicious  and  profane  youngsters  I  had  ever  come 
in  contact  with.  Many  of  them  had  been  turned  out  of  other  schools  as 
incorrigible.  The  people  seemed  to  think  that  I  was  at  the  head  of  a 
house  of  correction,  and  they  sent  me  all  the  worst  boys.  I  was 
amazed  at  the  amount  of  wickedness  these  children  knew  and  prac- 
ticed. I  had  to  be  almost  omnipresent  and  omniscient,  as  far  as  my 
domain  extended,  to  put  down  the  several  plots  that  were  concocted. 
I  had  six  months  of  the  hardest  w'ork  I  ever  had  in  my  life.  I  had  to 
look  continually  to  God  for  strength,  to  enable  me  to  perform  my  self- 
imposed  task.  At  the  end  of  this  time,  I  had  purged  from  my  school  all 
outward  and  visible  forms  of  vice,  and  as  I  had  the  Bible  for  the  founda- 
tion stone  of  my  work,  I  hoped  to  build  a  goodly  structure.  I  had  taken 
possession  of  the  cottage,  and  was  mistress  of  the  situation,  when  Mr. 
Angas  came  to  town,  visited  the  school,  and  was  delighted  at  the  good 
order  which  prevailed.  He  kindly  asked  if  he  could  do  anything  for 
me.  I  said  my  wants  were  (ew,  and  easily  supplied.  He  laughingly 
said : 

"Your  family  has  greatly  increased  since  I  last  saw  you ;  do  you  not 
want  something  for  your  children?" 

I  told  him  I  intended  to  give  them  a  tea  party  at  Christmas,  and  it 
was  near  at  hand. 

"Well,"  said  he,  "let  our  school  have  the  tea  at  my  expense.  I  am 
as  able  to  give  as  you  are,  and  tell  our  scholars  that  I  give  tliem  this 
treat  because  you  speak  well  of  them.  We  are  partners  in  this  work, 
but  your  part  is  the  more  arduous;  but  if  you  want  anything  at  any 
time,  let  me  know,  and  I  shall  help  you." 


534  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

I  was  pleased  and  encouraged  by  his  visit.  Our  school  increased  to 
one  hundred  and  fifty  children,  and  all  the  new  scholars  had  to  be 
broken  in  and  disciplined,  but  those  first  trained  helped  in  this  work. 
I  used  no  harsh  measures  at  all.  The  Bible  was  my  great  aux- 
iliary; without  it  I  should  have  been  powerless  for  good  among  these 
wild  street  Arabs.  What  a  power  has  the  Bible  to  tame,  to  civilize,  to 
elevate,  and  to  make  good  characters,  fit  to  live,  and  fit  to  die.     Mr. 

A helped  me  to  pay  for  some  material,  which  I  bought  to  make 

garments  for  the  poor  of  the  neighborhood,  and  I  let  them  have  them 
ready  made  for  what  the  material  cost.  I  had  a  lady  to  come  twice  a 
week  to  teach  the  girls  to  sew,  and  all  the  school  to  sing.  This  ar- 
rangement had  a  double  advantage,  for  all  kinds  of  underwear  for  men, 
women  and  children  were  made,  and  this  taught  the  girls  to  sew,  and 
the  poor  people  had  their  garments  made  for  nothing. 

Miss  Sarah  Magarey,  a  very  noble,  highly  cultured  Christian  young 
lady,  and  Mrs.  Wm.  Milne,  daughter-in-law  to  the  Hon.  (now  Sir)  W. 
Milne,  whom  I  often  met  at  the  sick-bed  of  Mrs.  Sinclair,  a  young  mar- 
ried lady,  were  so  kind  as  to  come,  each  one  day  in  the  week,  and 
hear  some  classes  recite.  » 

I  also  hired  an  ex-sergeant  of  one  of  Her  Majesty's  regiments  to  drill 
the  boys  in  the  play-ground,  while  I  drilled  the  girls  in  the  school-room. 
I  kept  all  busy  at  work.  Christmas  was  at  hand,  and  the  tea  party,  a 
new  thing  to  these  children,  was  in  their  mind.  We  had  our  large 
school-room  decorated  for  our  first  holiday  feast.  We  regretted  Mr. 
Angas'  absence.  One  of  the  leading  papers  had  a  notice  of  the  tea 
party  in  this  style : 

AN  ENTERTAINMENT  GIVEN  TO  THE  BOWDEN  PUBLIC   SCHOOL 

CHILDREN. 

The  spacious  room  was  decorated  with  green.  The  tea  was  given  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  founder  of  the  school  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  scholars.  After  tea 
they  adjourned  to  the  play-ground,  to  amuse  themselves  for  a  while,  when  they 
re-assembled  in  the  school-room,  and  were  joined  by  parents  and  friends.  W.  I. 
Magarey  accepted  the  chair.  Mr.  H.  Hussey,  as  one  well  acquainted  with  the 
working  of  the  school,  made  a  statement.  *  "■■•  *  The  school  was  only  opened 
in  July  last  with  about  seventy  scholars,  but  it  had  increased  to  one  hundred  and 
fifty.  All  those  who  had  visited  the  school  had  expressed  themselves  well  pleased 
wiih  the  manner  in  which  it  was  conducted  by  the  Superintendent,  Mrs.  Davies, 
who  had  succeeded  in  a  very  short  time  in  bringing  it  into  a  good  state  of  disci- 
pline. The  report  was  followed  by  a  magic  lantern  exhibition,  kindly  given  by 
Mr.  A.  Magarey,  which  afforded  a  great  deal  of  pleasure  to  the  juveniles.  At 
intervals  the  children  sang  some  of  their  school  melodies,  led  by  Mrs.  Harris. 
When  they  sang  the  National  Anthem  they  were  loudly  cheered,  and  the  pleasant 
entertainment  was  brought  to  a  close,  all  having  enjoyed  themselves  thproughly. 


THIRD  VOYAGE  TO  SOUTH  AUSTRALIA,  TEACHING  IN  ADELAIDE.     535 

One  day  I  went  with  a  young  acquaintance  to  the  lunatic  asylum,  to 
visit  a  friend  of  hers,  who  had  formerly  been  her  teacher.  I  listened 
to  the  conversation,  but  I  could  not  detect  insanity  in  this  patient. 
She  noticed  my  interest  in  the  conversation,  and  she  said  to  me : 

"You  do  not  think  me  crazy,  do  you?" 

"I  do  not,  and  why  do  you  stay  here?"  I  said. 

"I  shall  give  you  the  reason:  I  am  not  what  people  call  insane  ex- 
actly, for  I  have  my  intellect  about  me.  My  thoughts  sometimes  get 
deranged  ai|d  confused,  but  they  are  all  there,  like  a  drawer  where 
you  keep  your  cuffs,  collars  and  gloves.  They  sometimes  get  tumbled 
out  of  place,  but  they  are  all  there,  though  you  can  not  for  a  moment 
put  your  hand  on  what  you  want.  So  it  is  with  me.  I  can  not  always 
bring  up  the  right  thought;  my  ideas  get  confused,  and  this  state  of 
mind  was  brought  on  by  too  much  mental  labor,  worry  and  some  losses, 
and  I  was  brought  here.  But  if  I  had  any  friends  who  would  take  the 
trouble  to  direct  me,  I  need  not  be  here  long." 

"God  help  you,"  I  mentally  exclaimed.  She  said  one  thought  dis- 
turbed her;  it  was,  that  she  thought  God  had  forsaken  her.  She  said 
our  visit  cheered  her,  and  she  asked  us  to  come  again,  which  we  did 
next  Saturday.  I  felt  the  deepest  sympathy  for  this  poor  lady.  We 
were  sitting  on  the  veranda,  waiting  for  a  nurse  to  conduct  us  to  her, 
when  a  great  stalwart  Irish  nurse  came  to  us,  and  sans  ceremonie  ordered 
us  to  leave  the  premises;  she  wanted  to  shut  the  gate.  We  had  just 
come  in,  and  wished  to  see  Mrs.  . 

"You  must  leave,"  she  said,  with  a  scowl. 

I  asked  if  we  were  infringing  upon  the  rules  of  the  Institution;  if  so, 
we  should  leave  at  once;  but  if  not,  we  wished  to  see  Mrs. first. 

"Well,  you  can't  see  her,"  was  spoken  in  a  loud,  rude  tone. 

I  asked  this  bold  woman  where  Dr.  Paterson  lived.  This  she  was 
not  willing  to  tell;  but  I  insisted  on  knowing,  and  she  pointed  to  the 
house  with  a  frown  on  her  face.  We  called  upon  the  doctor,  and  I 
asked  him  if  the  servants  of  the  institution  were  allowed  to  treat  visit- 
ors rudely  when  visiting  patients.  Of  course  they  were  not.  I  asked 
permission  to  visit  the  establishment;  but  though  he  gave  me  a  great 
deal  of  information  about  it,  he  said  strangers  were  not  allowed  to  visit 
it  unless  they  had  friends  or  relatives  in  it.  I  said  I  had  neither,  but 
this  young  lady  has  a  friend  that  we  came  to  see,  and  we  were  ordered 
off  the  premises  by  an  attendant  wJio  did  not  allow  us  to  see  Mrs. . 

"This  must  not  be,"  said  the  doctor. 

I  asked  if  I  had  permission  to  visit  the  institution.     He  said  he  had 


53^  fHE  gTORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

not  the  power  to  grant  the  privilege  to  a  stranger.  I  went  home  and 
wrote  to  the  Board  of  Trustees  £lccofding  to  the  doctor's  instructions, 
and  sent  in  my  request  to  have  the  permission  granted,  and  I  received 
the  following  answer : 

Adelaide  Lunatic  Asylum,  Am^ust  i^,  1872. 

UaJanie  : — In  reply  to  your  letter  of  tne  12th  inst.,  requesting  permission  to 
visit  tlie  Lunatic  Asylum  oitce  a  month,  I  am  directed  by  Dr.  Paterson  to  inform 
you  that  your  request  is  granted.  The  necessary  instructions  have  been  given 
to  the  officer  in  charge.  The  visiting  hours  are  from  10  to  I,  every  day,  except 
Sunday.     I  have  the  honor  to  be,  madam,  Your  obedient  servant, 

Mrs.  Davies,  Boiuden  Public  School.  J°"^  ^-  Steward. 

At  my  first  visit  after  this  my  reception  was  somewhat  different. 
The  gate  was  flung  Avide  open,  and  I  was  conducted  to  the  matron's 
room  by  an  obsequious  daughter  of  Erin.  The  matron  very  politely 
conducted  me  all  over  the  premises.  In  this  way  the  rude  servant 
was  taught  not  to  be  insolent  to  strangers.  She  was  ever  after  defer- 
ential to  me.  I  bought  some  large,  showy  pictures,  and  carried  them 
to  the  school-room  to  amuse  the  children,  whose  minds  were  beclouded. 
I  tried  to  impress  upon  the  mind  of  the  unfortunate  teacher,  that  God 
had  not  forsaken  her.  On  leaving  the  home  of  the  insane  I  always 
felt  sad.  I  was  invited  to  a  grand  ball,  to  be  given  to  the  lunatics,  by 
the  friends  of  the  institution.  A  large  room  was  brilliantly  lit  up,  and 
a  crov/d  of  well-dressed  people  were  assembled.  A  grand  piano  dis- 
coursed dance-music,  under  the  skillful  fingers  of  a  first-class  musician. 
The  visitors  danced  with  the  inmates,  and  they  abandoned  themselves 
to  the  music  and  their  own  motions,  which  were  ludicrous  enough ;  but 
they  enjoyed  themselves  with  great  gusto.  One  young  lady  was 
dressed  in  white,  with  black  trimmings,  black  gloves  and  boots,  black 
hair  and  eyes.  She  was  small  and  beautifully  formed,  but  as  demure 
as  a  mouse.  She  danced  with  a  gentleman  visitor.  She  was  fleet- 
footed  as  a  fawn,  and  fairly  flew  through  the  mazes  of  the  dance,  yet 
she  moved  with  ease  and  grace,  and  her  eyes  were  ablaze  with  de- 
light. When  seated  she  looked  the  picture  of  patience.  A  nurse  was 
near  her  all  the  time  to  watch  her.  She  was  a  dangerous  maniac. 
She  belonged  to  one  of  the  first  families  in  the  colony.  Many  others 
of  the  same  class  were  here.  Most  of  the  dancers  were  fantastically 
dressed.  We  had  kings,  queens,  and  every  shade  of  nobility ;  and  I 
caught  myself  laughing  several  times  at  their  grotesque  figures. 

One  day  I  missed  Mrs.  ;  I  asked  where  she  was,  and  was  told 

she  had  been  sent  to  the  asylum  on  the  hills.     This  was  a  handsome 


THIRD  VOYAGE  TO  SOUTH  AUSTRALIA,  TEACHING  IN  ADELAIDE.     537 

house,  beautifully  situated,  bu^  a  living  tomb  for  those  Avho  were  sent 
there.     It  was  the  home  for  all  time  for  the  incurables.     Poor  Mrs. 

!    I  took  an  omnibus  one  day  and  went  to  visit  her,  and  she  vv-as 

glad  to  see  me.     She  said,  as  we  stood  in  the  midst  of  the  incurables : 

"I  am  not  mad,  though  they  have  sent  me  here;  but  I  will  soon  be 
mad  in  the  company  of  these  driveling  idiots." 

It  made  my  heart  sick  to  see  her  surroundings,  but  I  could  not  help 
her;  so  I  never  went  to  see  her  again.     I  think  I  hear  her  last  words : 

"Oh  !  have  I  to  become  like  these  ?  What  shall  I  do  ?  what  shall  I 
do?" 

I  was  powerless  to  help  her,  so  I  left  the  living  tomb.  It  was  not 
good  for  me  to  be  there. 

Brethren  Earl  and  Gore  had  a  class  of  young  men,  preparing  for 
the  ministry,  and  churches  were  being  planted  in  various  parts  of  the 
colony.  At  the  opening,  and  at  the  anniversary  of  the  opening  of  a 
place  of  worship,  a  tea-party  would  be  given,  and  all  the  other  churclies 
be  invited  to  come  and  celebrate  the  occasion.  These  tea-meetings 
were  enjoyable,  sociable  gatherings.  When  tea  was  over,  the  minis- 
ters from  the  different  Christian  Churches  would  make  speeches,  and 
report  their  progress.  At  these  reunions,  the  Christian  brotherhood 
became  better  acquainted'  with  each  other,  enlarged  their  sympa- 
thies, and  took  a  deeper  interest  in  each  other  and  the  cause.  They 
were  more  firmly  knit  in  the  bonds  of  faith,  hope  and  love. 

At  Strathalbyn,  a  picturesque  town  away  up  among  the  hills,  a 
church  had  a  tea-meeting,  on  opening  their  chapel  for  public  wor- 
ship. Members  from  the  various  churches  were  there.  Adelaide 
was  largely  represented.  When  the  pleasant  meeting  was  over,  three 
of  our  young  ministers-elect  were  discussing  a  point.  They  had  a 
holiday,  and  they  did  not  know  what  to  do  with  it.  The  point  dis. 
cussed  was,  whether  they  would  go  back  to  Adelaide  on  the  morrow 
or  take  a  trip  to  Lake  Alexandrina.  They  asked  me  to  decide  for 
them.  Of  course,  I  decided  for  the  lake.  vThey  asked  me  then  to 
join  them  in  their  trip,  which  I  willingly  consented  to  do.  At  five  in 
the  morning  we  started,  we  four  in  an  elegant  phaeton,  with  two  horses 
driven  tandem.  The  swift-footed  horses,  prancing  along  a  good  road, 
and  the  fresh  morning  breezes,  made  our  spirits  joyous.  The  sun 
burst  forth,  and  the  hill-tops  were  tinged  witli  rosy  light;  a  perfect 
flood  of  splendor  spread  over  hill  and  dale.  This  was  a  real  Austra- 
lian sunrise,  beautiful  and  balmy.  A  burst  of  praise  and  thanksgiving 
occasionally  arose  from  our  lips.    I  told  these  earnest  young  Christians 


53S  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

that  the  tandem  team,  with  my  three,  reminded  me  of  the  time  when 
first  I  rode  tandem  to  the  lake  under  very  different  circumstances. 
I  told  them  the  story  of  my  first  visit.  We  had  breakfast  at  Milang- 
after  our  long  drive.  I  stood  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Alexandrina, 
where,  a  quarter  of  a  century  or  more  previous,  I  had  landed  amid 
the  hideous  yells  of  the  painted  savages,  and  the  din  and  clatter  of 
war-weapons.  I  was  not  now  panting  with  terror  at  hideous  savages 
surrounding  me  in  an  unbroken  wilderness.  I  was  surrounded  by  a 
high  civilization ;  was  in  the  midst  of  a  prospering  people ;  in  a  thriv- 
ing town,  with  its,  flour-mills,  its  machine-shops,  its  stores,  its  churches, 
and  Its  schools.  Here  all  the  most  sanguine  wishes  -of  Capt.  Sturt's 
heart,  when  he  reported  the  millions  of  acres  of  alluvial  soil  that  he 
had  discovered  in  this  region,  were  realized.  A  sail  across  the 
lake  on  a  steamboat  had  been  planned,  and  the  boat  lay  ready  for  the 
excursionists  by  the  side  of  the  jetty,  built  where  my  boat  had  been 
landed  up  among  the  tall  reeds  on  the  shore.  I  could  hardly  realize, 
as  I  stepped  on  board  the  gallant  steamer,  that  she  was  crossing  the 
waters  of  the  lake  on  which  Mrs.  Sturt,  Miss  Gawlor  and  myself  were 
the  first  white  females  to  sail.  We  were  the  first  to  visit  its  shores, 
and  the  first  who  ventured  on  the  bosom  of  the  Murray  River,  which 
was  now  the  great  highway  into  the  interior,  and  the  most  important 
river  on  the  continent,  as  it  is  the  largest  yet  known.  What  must  have 
been  the  surprise  of  the  savages  when  the  first  steamboat,  like  some 
fabled  monster  of  the  wave  breathing  fire  and  making  the  shores  re- 
sound with  its  deep  respirations,  came  in  sight. 

While  my  reflections  were  carrying  me  back  to  rude  and  painted 
savages,  unbroken  forests  and  a  silent  wilderness,  a  large  and  merry 
party  were  steaming  across  the  beautiful  lake.  We  reached  the  long, 
narrow  Coorong  Lake,  which  we  entered  and  up  which  we  steamed. 
Between  the  waters  of  the  Coorong  and  the  ocean  is  a  long,  narrow 
strip  of  land,  which  varies  from  one  to  three  miles  wide.  It  is  cov- 
ered with  sand-hills,  high  and  dazzlingly  white.  The  Coorong  and 
the  Sandspit  lie  on  the  east  side  of  the  sea-mouth  of  the  Murray.  I, 
with  a  few  others,  landed  on  this  spit.  I  wished  to  cross  it;  for  to  me 
it  had  great  interest.  I  wished  to  make  the  most  of  my  visit  to  this 
desolate,  lonely  coast.  I  had  never  seen  it  before.  I  climbed  a  long, 
high  hill,  to  have  a  good  view,  and  then  to  descend  gradually  to  the 
shore.  When  I  reached  the  top,  I  was  taken  aback  when  I  found  no 
gradual  descent,  but  an  almost  perpendicular  wall  facing  the  ocean, 
and  a  narrow  beach  between  them.     I  had  either  to  clamber  down,  or 


THIRB  VOYAGE  TO  SOUTH  AUSTRALIA,  TEACHING  IN  ADELAIDE.     539 

turn  back  without  seeing  what  I  came  for.  I  began  to  descend  by 
digging  my  heels  into  the  yielding  sand,  making  a  kind  of  ladder,  and 
throwing  myself  well  back  on  the  sand  to  support  myself;  otherwise  I 
should  have  toppled  down  to  the  beach  below.  I  now  saw  the  sea- 
mouth  of  the  river,  famous  for  many  tragical  events  that  happened  near 
it,  and  which  gave  a  melancholy  interest  to  the  spot. 

And  this  is  Encounter  Bay,  I  exclaimed,  where  the  English  and 
French  ships,  each  claiming  to  have  discovered  a  certain  portion  of 
this  continent,  had  an  encounter;  hence  the  origin  of  the  name,  En- 
counter Bay.  This  bay  lies  directly  open  to  the  Southern  Ocean,  and 
the  scene  it  presented  was  wild  in  the  extreme.  "The  swell  that  rolls 
into  this  bay  at  all  times  is  of  the  heaviest  description.  The  breakers 
rise  to  the  height  of  from  fifteen  to  eighteen  feet,  before  they  burst 
in  one  unbroken  line  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach."  The  roar  of 
the  foaming  waters  against  the  sand-hills  is  terrific.  The  whole 
scene  is  awe-inspiring.  This  is  a  lone  and  dreary  spot,  seldom  visited 
by  any  living  creature.  I  wandered  on  the  beach  and  gathered  a  [cw 
curious  shells,  as  a  memento  of  my  visit.  My  thoughts  went  up 
to  the  Almighty,  who  had  spread  out  this  vast  ocean,  and  can  say  to 
the  roaring  billows,  "Peace,  be  still."  I  bent  before  the  great  I  Am. 
We  recrossed  the  sandspit,  boarded  the  steamer,  recrossed  the  lake, 
and  reached  Milang  safe  and  satisfied  with  our  excursion. 

Our  little  party  had  a  pleasant  drive  back  to  Strathalbyn.  Next 
morning,  in  company  with  some  of  our  preachers,  I  took  a  seat  outside 
of  a  stage-coach,  drawn  by  five  fine,  high-spirited  horses,  and  swept 
around  and  down  the  mountains.  We  had  a  magnificent  view  of  the 
country,  which  more  than  repaid  me  for  taking  an  unfashionable  seat 
on  top  of  the  coach.     We  reached  Adelaide  all  safe. 

My  health  required  that  I  should  spend  my  midsummer  holidays  at 
the  seaside.'  So  I  took  another,  and  another  trip  to  Port  Elliot  and 
Port  Victor.  These  places  were  outside  the  sea-mouth  of  the  Murray, 
and  as  the  mouth  forbade  either  egress  or  ingress,  a  tramway  connected 
these  places  to  Goolwa,  a  town  above  the  mouth.  I  enjoyed  my  visits 
to  the  sea-beach.  I  would  cover  my  head,  and  lie  down  on  a  bed  of 
shells  or  sand,  and  enjoy  perfect  idleness  for  hours;  then  I  would 
gather  the  beautifully  tinted  flowers,  torn  from  their  ocean  bed,  and 
carried  ashore  by  the  waves.  Of  these  beautiful  flowers,  or  sea-weed, 
I  made  exquisite  wreaths,  and  fastened  them  to  pasteboard.  Thus  I 
rested  from  the  toil  and  tumult  of  my  daily  life  for  a  time.  I  would 
sometimes  take  the  outside  seat  of  the  tramway  car,  and  run  up  to 


540  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

Goohva.  Once  while  here  I  took  a  steamer,  and  crossed  the  lake  to 
Point  Macleay,  to  visit  the  mission  school  and  farm  for  the  natives. 
Government  has  tried  every  means  to  improve  the  aborigines.  The 
school  and  farm  at  this  place  are  well  conducted,  and  the  elementary 
principles  of  education  are  given  to  the  children;  more  they  can  not 
take.  When  their  reason  is  taxed,  they  fail.  The  men  are  taught  to 
till  the  ground;  they  are  fed  and  clothed;  but  as  they  have  none  of 
the  finer  feelings  or  principles  that  can  be  a  basis  of  social  order,  litde 
can  be  done  to  elevate  them.  I  registered  my  name  in  the  visitor's 
book,  with  the  remark  that  I  was  the  first  white  lady  the  lake  tribe 
ever  saw. 

The  Botanical  Gardens  were  a  great  source  of  delight  to  my  school. 
Every  few  weeks  I  would  have  school  out  of  doors.  I  would  some- 
times hire  a  whole  railway  car  on  a  train,  and  pack  all  my  children  in 
tight,  and  take  them  to  town,  and  then  march  them  to  the  gardens; 
sometimes  they  marched  all  the  way.  This  was  one  means  I  used  to 
make  my  school  attractive  to  the  children.  On  entering  the  beautiful 
grounds,  we  marched  down  the  broad  walk  to  the  fountain  in  the  center, 
where  the  classes  divided,  each  teacher  took  her  own  class,  and  all 
went  their  ways  to  examine  the  living  specimens  of  Zoology,  Ornithol- 
ogy, or  Ichthyology,  as  they  felt  inclined.  I  had  first  given  them  object 
lessons  on  these  animals,  and  when  we  returned  to  school  in  doors,  I 
examined  all,  to  ascertain  how  much  they  had  learned  out  of  doors. 
These  were  interesting  examinations,  and  also  amusing.  At  lunch-time 
we  would  all  meet  in  a  shady  place,  and  eat  and  chat  freely,  and  then 
gather  up  the  crumbs,  and  feed  the  beautiful  black  and  white  swans, 
which  were  floating  on  the  artificial  lake  so  gracefully.  We  would  then 
all  walk  round,  and  enjoy  the  rare  sights  of  camels,  kangaroos,  emus 
and  flowers.  Over  one  hundred  children  marched  up  and  down,  out 
and  in,  and  round  the  beautifully  bordered  and  well-kept  walks,  and 
not  a  plant,  or  flower,  or  twig,  or  leaf,  or  even  a  blade  of  grass  injured 
by  their  meddlesome  fingers,  or  busy  feet.  My  school  was  always  wel- 
come to  the  privilege  of  the  beautiful  grounds,  for  they  gave  no  trouble. 

I  had  the  pleasure  to  know  that  Dr.  Shomburg,  who  was  the  able 
curator  of  these  gardens,  took  quite  an  interest  in  my  school.  He  gave  me 
slips  of  the  most  rare  flowers  of  various  kinds,  and  over  a  dozen  varie- 
ties of  beautiful  geraniums.  I  planted  my  flowers,  and  cultivated  them, 
and  they  grew  luxuriantly.  I  also  planted  trees  for  shade.  It  was  a 
feast  of  poetry  to  me  to  watch  the  unfolding  of  the  lovely  flower-buds 
that  I  had  bred  with  so  tender  a  hand.     I  would  linger  over  the  richly- 


THIRD  VOYAGE  TO  SOUTH  AUSTRALIA,  TEACHING  IN  ADELAIDE.     54 1 

t'nted,  svveetly-scented  flowers  at  sunset.  They  had  a  great  charm  for 
me.  One  Friday  evening,  as  I  sat  at  my  parlor  window  jaded  in  mind 
and  body,  I  leaned  my  head  on  my  hand,  and  gazed  at  the  flood  of 
beauty  that  met  my  eye.  A  parterre  of  richest  tinted  flowers  was 
spread  out  before  me.  I  looked  long  and  lovingly  at  them ;  then  I 
asked,  who  made  the  flowers?  why  were  they  made?  what  purpose 
did  they  serve?  do  we  need  them?  These  questions  rushed  through 
my  mind,  as  I  looked  on  the  lovely  creations  in  the  midst  of  mean  and 
dusty  surroundings,  like  a  little  oasis  in  a  desert.  I  bowed  my  heart 
in  thankfulness  to  God,  who  for  man's  pleasure  alone  painted  the  petals 
of  the  rose  and  the  gladiolus,  that  the  weary  eye  might  rest,  and  the 
tired  spirit  find  repose.  While  my  eye  was  pleased  and  my  spirit 
soothed  by  the  simple  beauty  of  the  flowers,  I  asked  yet  another  ques- 
tion. If  all  these  rare  and  e.\quisite  flowers  were  for  me  alone,  were 
there  no  others  who  could  enjoy  them  as  I  did?  My  mind  flew 
back  to  Bethany,  in  America,  when  Prof.  Pickett  sent  to  my  sick  room 
a  rare  gem  of  a  bouquet,  artistically  arranged,  and  when  Miss  Lum 
Davis,  when  I  was  on  a  sick  bed  at  the  Orphan  School,  at  Midway, 
presented  me  with  a  sweet  little  nosegay.  Oh,  how  I  appreciated  those 
flowers !  One  more  question  I  asked  myself.  Are  there  not  others 
stretched  on  sick  beds  who  would  appreciate  fresh  flowers?  The  an- 
swer came  quick  as  a  flash,  "Yes,  in  the  hospital  there  are  sick  and 
poor,  and  they  shall  share  my  bounty." 

My  weariness  all  gone,  I  called  to  Carrie  to  come  help  me  to  cut 
flowers.  We  bunched  them  into  bouquets,  and  next  morning  we  car- 
ried them  two  miles  to  the  hospital.  I  saw  in  one  ward  flowers  scat- 
tered about.  The  patients  here  had  friends,  who  attended  to  their 
wants.  I  asked  the  matron  of  the  house  if  there  were  any  wards  to 
which  no  flowers  were  sent;  if  there  were,  to  them  I  would  bring  my 
gifts. 

"Oh,"  said  the  lady,"  "we  have  two  wards  very  much  neglected; 
no  one  visits  them.  One  lady  comes  sometimes  on  Sunday  to  read  for 
the  Magdalenes.     Their  ward  and  a  man's  ward  are  never  visited." 

The  matron  conducted  me  to  the  neglected  wards,  where  I  gladdened 
the  eyes  of  many  with  my  floral  offering.  Every  week,  while  my  flow- 
ers lasted,  they  had  a  supply.  I  could  only  carry  my  flowers  on  Satur- 
day, and  this  was  not  a  visiting  day;  but  permission  was  granted  me 
to  visit  when  it  was  convenient  to  myself.  I  selected  tracts  and  por- 
tions of  Scripture  to  read  to  the  women  in  the  Magdalene  ward,  also  in 
the  men's  ward.     I  read  and  talked  to  the  poor  unfortunate  women, 


542  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

and  many  a  tale  of  sorrow  and  wrong  was  poured  into  my  ear.  I 
tried  to  direct  them  to  a  forgiving  Savior,  who  invited  all  to  come  to 
him,  and  he  would  not  cast  them  out.  They  all  listened  with  attention 
to  what  I  read  and  said.  I  persuaded  one  beautiful  young  girl  to  re- 
turn to  her  parents,  when  she  left  the  hospital,  which  she  did,  and  was 
received  with  open  arms.  Others  promised  amendment.  On  a  sick 
bed  people  have  time  to  think,  and  are  then  very  repentant;  but  it  is 
doubtful  whether  they  always  carry  out  their  sick  bed  resolutions  when 
they  return  to  health.  The  men  were  always  glad  to  see  me.  There 
was  an  educated,  gentlemanly  man,  who  was  particularly  so.  He 
loved  flowers;  they  reminded  him  of  a  once  happy  home.  Sickness 
prevented  my  going  to  see  my  sick  folks  one  week,     I  met  the  nurse 

of  the  men's  ward  at  church,  and  she  said  that  Mr.  W had  so 

missed  my  visit,  and  wondered  if  I  would  never  come  again.     She  said 

she  had  taken  the  liberty  to  ask  iTte  to  come  again,  as  Mr.  W was 

very  ill,  and  wished  to  see  me.  I  told  her  I  should  go  to  them  again. 
I  went  to  my  once  brilliant  parterre,  and  gathered  every  blossom  that 
remained,  and  carried  my  last  flowers  to  the  sick  man.  As  soon  as  he 
saw  me  enter  the  door,  he  raised  his  hands  and  eyes.  I  walked  straight 
to  him,  and  he  clasped  his  two  hands  around  the  flowers  lovingly,  as 
I  said : 

"These  are  my  last,  and  they  are  for  you." 

"Oh,  thank  you,  thank  you,  I  may  never  want  any  more;  but  oh, 
they  are  very  beautiful.     God  bless  you  for  bringing  them  to  me." 

We  conversed  on  the  Savior's  love  to  sinners.  He  talked  more 
freely  and  more  hopefully  to  me  that  day  than  he  had  ever  done  be- 
fore. I  read  to  him  portions  of  Scripture  suitable  to  hi*s  case.  Tears 
of  gratitude  filled  his  eyes,  as  I  said : 

"Farewell!     If  we  meet  no  more  on  earth,  let  us  meet  in  heaven." 

I  saw  him  no  more.  My  flowers  cheered  his  last  hours.  They  had 
performed  their  mission,  and  who  will  deny  the  ministry  of  flowers? 

I  greatly  desired  to  elevate  the  tastes  of  the  parents  of  the  school 
children,  and  of  the  neighborhood  generally.  I  got  up  a  musical  en- 
tertainment for  their  benefit,  which  was  a  complete  success.  I  had 
many  friends  who  volunteered  their  services  when  I  proposed  my  plan 
to  them.  I  had  tickets  and  circulars  printed,  hired  a  grand  piano,  had 
the  large  room  handsomely  festooned,  and  decorated  with  flowers. 
Tickets  were  sold  so  cheap  that  the  poorest  persons  could  buy  one.  I 
shall  quote  what  a  leading  paper  said  of  it : 


THIRD  VOYAGE  TO  SOUTH  AUSTRALIA,  TEACHING  IN  ADELAIDE.     543 

SOIREE, 

On  Friday  evening  a  pleasant  entertainment,  consisting  of  vocal  and  instrumen- 
tal music,  recitations  and  readings,  was  given  in  the  Bowden  Public  School  by 
several  ladies  and  gentlemen  taking  part  who  were  interested  in  the  school, 
which  is  conducted  by  Mrs.  Dayies.  A  large  number  of  the  pupils  were  pres- 
ent, and  they  were  distinguishable  from  the  remaining  portion  of  the  juveniles  in 
the  house  by  their  intelligent  and  decorous  deportment  throughout  the  evening. 
The  very  large  room  was  tastefully  decorated  for  the  occasion,  and  was  crowded 
to  repletion.  Mr.  W.  J.  Magarey,  J.  P.,  was  in  the  chair,  and  opened  the  proceed- 
ings with  a  few  remarks,  in  which  he  stated  that  the  inhabitants  of  that  neigh- 
borhood were  indebted  to  Mr.  Angas  for  the  large  room  in  which  they  were 
assembled.  *  *  *  He  urged  the  parents  to  send  their  children  to  school;  to 
avail  themselves  of  the  opportunity  they  now  had  to  have  their  children  edu- 
cated at  small  expense.  Mrs.  Davies,  he  said,  was  an  enthusiastic  lover  of  teach- 
ing, and  was  never  so  well  satisfied  as  when  engaged  in  her  important  work. 

The  school  children  sang  a  school  song.  Other  songs  and  duets  were  sung, 
accompanied  on  the  piano  by  Miss  Sanderson,   Mrs.  Harris,   Miss  Staines,  Mr. 

S and    Mr.  J.  W.  S ,  and  loudly  applauded.      Miss  C played  two 

solos  on  the  pianoforte.     Mr.  W recited   "Young  Lochinvar"  with  great 

success,  and  Mr.  S recited  selections  from    Hans  Breitman  in  a  manner 

which  showed  a  full  appreciation  of  the  spirit  of  the  author,  and  the  ability  to 
give  due  effect  to  it.  Others  took  part  in  the  performances,  and  the  chairman 
apologized  for  the  absence  of  Mr.  W.  H.  Bundey,  M.  P.,  who  had  promised  to 
assist,  but  had  taken  a  bad  cold.  A  vote  of  thanks  to  the  chairman,  followed 
by  "God  Save  the  Queen,"  brought  the  proceedings  to  a  close.  Among  those 
present  were  John  H.  Angas,  M.  P.,  H.  S.  Earl,  M.  A.,  Dr.  J.  Kidner,  and 
other  influential  gentlemen,  interested  in  educational  matters. 

I  wished  to  show  these  poor  people  that  they  were  not  overlooked; 
that  the  very  best  people  in  the  land  took  an  interest  in  them,  and 
that  they  ought  to  take  an  interest  in  themselves,  and  send  their  chil- 
dren regularly  to  school.  I  had  written  and  invited  Mr.  Angas  to 
come  to  our  soiree.     It  was  too  far  for  him  to  come,  but  his  son  was 

there.     Mr.  A liked  to  have  letters  from  me,  informing  liim  about 

our  school.  I  told  him  of  our  successes,  l)ut  none  of  the  weary  toil 
that  led  to  them.  He  always  wrote  encouraging  letters  to  me.  I  will 
give  a  few  extracts: 

My  Dear  Mrs.  Davies: — Your  very  pleasing  and  satisfactory  letter  of  yesterday 
gave  Mr.  Angas  great  pleasure.  He  has,  therefore,  desired  me  to  write  to  you 
and  thank  you  for  your  good  wishes  with  regard  to  himself,  and  also  the  pleasing 
account  relative  to  the  school  under  your  superintendence.  I  am  sure  he  quite 
appreciates  your  energy  and  perseverance  in  the  great  and  good  work. 

We  all  sympathize  with  you  in  your  late  illness.  I  feel  assured  that  no  one 
could  take  your  place   in  subduing   the  wills  of  the  city  arabs.     Therefore,  the 


544  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

extra  exertion  you  have  made  tells  on  you.  Mr.  Angas  expressed  with  much 
feeling  his  approval  of  the  very  wise  way  you  disposed  of  your  flowers  to  the 
sick  and  dying  in  the  hospital,  and  I  am  sure  you  feel  recompensed  with  the  pleas- 
ure manifested  by  the  grateful  eyes  and  thankful  looks  of  those  worn  and  sad 
countenances  of  the  suffering.  You  will  be  glad  to  hear  of  Mr.  H 's  appro- 
bation of  your  doings  and  management.  *  *  *  I  hope  much  success  will  be 
yours  in  reclaiming  those  out  of  the  way — that  strength  of  body  and  mind  may 
be  given  you  to  meet  your  labors.     With  kind  regards  and  best  wishes, 

I  am  yours,  very  truly,  J.  Parsons. 

My  Dear  Mrs.  Davies : — You  must  make  your  arrangements  to  have  a  change 

of  air.     I  am  glad  that  Mr.  H was  at  your  meeting,  and  that  he  paid  you 

a  tribute  so  justly  due  you  for  your  efforts.  You  may  rest  assured  that  you  have 
no  more  sincere  friend  to  yourself  than  that  Christian  gentleman.  I  feel  the 
infirmities  of  age  upon  me,  so  that  I  can  not  be  as  active  in  labor  as  I  used  to 
be.     *     *     *  I  am  yours  truly,  Geo.  F.  Angas. 

Lindsay  Park,  December,  i8']2. 

Mr.  Angas  allowed  me  to  buy  books  for  all  the  children  (not  as 
prizes,  for  I  gave  none ;  I  made  learning  itself  the  prize)  as  Christmas 
presents  from  him.  He  was  highly  pleased  with  the  character  of  our 
school,  and  he  was  the  most  liberal  patron.  We  had  an  examination 
which  highly  pleased  the  parents  and  visitors.  Our  room,  as  usual, 
was  decorated  with  flowers.  After  the  examination,  the  children  sang 
and  recited  pieces;  then  came  refreshments;  then  games  on  the  play- 
ground; then  the  presentation  of  the  books;  then  a  vote  of  thanks 
for  the  books,  and  a  vote  of  thanks  for  the  superintendent  of  the 
school,  Mrs.  Davies,  who,  it  was  stated,  deserved  much  credit  for  the 
way  in  which  she  had  taught  and  trained  the  scholars. 

On  Christmas  day,  all  the  poor,  the  halt  and  the  blind  from  the 

neighborhood  had  a  dinner  prepared  for  them  at  Mr.  A 's  cost, 

and  served  up  in  the  school-room.  I  had  several  young  lady  friends 
to  help  me  wait  on  the  table,  and  help  the  guests — two  sisters  of  Mrs. 
Bundey,  daughters  of  the  Hon.  (nor  Sir)  Wm.  Milne,  and  several 
others.  We  spent  a  pleasant  and  useful,  if  not  a  merry,  Christmas. 
I  closed  school  for  the  holidays,  and  went  away  to  Port  Elliotte  and 
Port  Victor,  to  lie  on  the  beach  among  the  shells  and  sand,  and  to 
sleep. 

One  morning  I  was  gathering  flowers  in  my  garden  when  two  boys 
passed.     They  raised  their  caps,  and  said : 

"Good  morning,  ma'am." 

I  returned  the  salutation  very  politely,  and  chatted  with  them  for  a 
few  moments  ere  they  passed  on.     This  little  incident  pleased  me, 


THIRD  VOYAGE  TO  SOUTH  AUSTRALIA,  TEACHING  IN  ADELAIDE.     545 

because  they  were  two  of  the  boys  who  had  tumbled  into  the  school- 
room and  nearly  overrun  me  in  their  rude  rush  for  seats  the  first  day  I 
opened  school.  Next  morning  I  remarked  in  class  that  I  had  two 
little  gentlemen  in  school;  they  were  young,  but  they  were  polite  and 
gentle  in  their  manners,  and  they  were  not  ashamed  of  being  polite. 
I  soon  found  that  I  had  more  than  two.  They  had  raised  their  cour- 
age up  to  the  polite  point,  and  when  these  two  led  off,  the  others  soon 
followed,  till  every  one  in  school,  from  being  roughs,  were  like  little 
gentlemen  and  ladies.  At  first,  when  politeness  was  taught  them, 
they  laughed  right  out  at  the  idea  of  being  expected  to  be  polite ;  and 
laughed  at  each  other  when  they  made- an  attempt  at  any  approach  to 
it.  Rudeness  now  was  the  exception  and  was  hooted  down.  My 
butcher  and  baker  paid  my  boys  a  tribute.  They  said  they  could  now 
drive  along  the  streets  without  fear  of  annoyance  from  the  street  arabs 
who  formerly  shouted  about  their  horses  and  frightened  them,  so  they 
often  ran  away,  doing  considerable  damage. 

"Now,"  said  they,  "the  boys  behave  like  gentlemen.  This  school 
has  been  a  blessing  to  the  neighborhood." 

Of  course,  I  told  the  boys  how  their  good  conduct  was  appreciated, 
and  encouraged  them  to  continue  in  well-doing. 

I  often  felt  very  weary  after  my  day's  work  was  done;  I  was  losing 
strength;  I  was  excited  with  my  work  in  the  school-room  and  did  not 
feel  any  exhaustion  till  the  school  closed  for  the  day;  then  I  would 
often  feel  complete  exhaustion.  The  doctor  told  me  that  I  was  over- 
taxing my  nervous  system;  I  would  soon  be  ill.    I  would  smile,  and  say,. 

"Better  wear  out  than  rust  out.     I  am  willing  to  die  at  my  post." 

The  doctor  would  shake  his  head,  and  say, 

"It  will  not  do." 

Had  I  had  a  smaller  school,  or  more  efficient  assistants,  or  been 
less  anxious  to  have  my  school  a  model  one  in  the  face  of  every  diffi- 
culty, or  cared  less  for  the  well-being  of  those  I  had  in  charge,  I 
might  have  had  an  easier  time  ;  but  my  responsibility  was  very  great, 
and  I  wished  to  do  my  duty  to  God  by  being  faithful  in  my  work.  I 
was  cheered  in  spirit,  if  not  strenthened  in  body,  by  letters  from  some 
of  my  former  pupils.  One  of  my  country  arabs,  who  had  been  at 
North  Sydney  as  rough  as  any  I  had  at  Bowden,  wrote  to  tell  me  that 
he  was  in  a  city  situation,  a  place  of  trust  under  government,  and 
doing  well.  He  said  :  "What  I  am  you  have  made  me.  I  thank  God 
that  you  ever  came  to  the  bush  to  live,  and  took  me  by  the  hand,  and 
was  my  friend.  You  led  me  into  the  right  road,  and  I  hope  to  walk 
35 


546  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

in  it ;  and  others  here  whom  you  benefited  will  never  forget  what  you 
have  done  for  them  and  for  the  neighborhood.  They  will  feel  ever 
grateful  to  you."  He  finished  with  a  P.  S.  :  "Please  to  correct  ray 
letters  as  you  used  to  do;  I  shall  be  twenty  year's  old  in  October." 

This  boy's  letter,  gushing  with  gratitude,  inspired  me  with  new  life 
for  the  present.  I  felt  encouraged  to  work,  for  my  strength  at  North 
Sydney  had  not  been  spent  in  vain.  The  seed  I  had  planted  there 
was  bearing  fruit.  I  was  cheered,  and  rose  from  a  sick-bed  encour- 
aged to  persevere  in  my  work  of  sowing  seed  here,  hoping  fruit  would 
come  by  and  by. 

I  had  an  examination  usually  just  before  our  midwinter  (June)  and 
our  midsummer  (December)  holidays.  The  examiners  had  always 
been  chosen  for  me,  and  though  they  .were  educated  gentlemen,  they 
were  not  educators ;  consequently,  though  they  and  everybody  else  were 
pleased  with  the  results,  I  never  was.  I  had  been  accustomed  to 
thorough  and  searching  examinations  at  my  former  school,  by  edu- 
cators who  stood  between  the  public  and  me  and  shared  my  responsi- 
bility. But  here  my  responsibility  was  treble  what  it  had  been.  Be- 
tween the  examinations,  I  had  to  face  a  troublesome  community,  who 
thought  their  children  ought  to  be  taught  their  way,  and  my  teachers 
thought  the  people  were  in  the  right.  I  taught  my  own  way  never- 
theless, but  had  too  much  to  do  in  stemming  cross-currents. 

At  one  examination  I  had  a  Rev. to  examine  a  class  in  geog- 
raphy. He  was  telling  them  something  about  a  place  in  a  certain 
country,  when  some  of  the  hands  went  up.     Some  of  the  boys  said: 

"Please,  sir,  it  is  not  there." 

"Where  then?"  said  the  examiner. 

They  told  him,  and  he  said  good  humoredly, 

"I  do  believe  you  know  more  about  geography  than  I  do.  You 
certainly  have  done  well." 

I  received  great  praise  for  teaching  them  so  well.  I  bowed  stiffly, 
and  mentally  said,  "What  do  you  know  of  what  they  have  learned,  or 
wliat  they  have  been  taught?"  He  was  a  popular  minister;  what  he 
said  was  believed  without  knowledge,  and  his  report  pleased  all  but  me. 

At  another  examination.  Dr.  was  invited  to  conduct  it.     He 

proposed  to  examine  a  class  on  natural  history.     Said  the  doctor, 

"Madam,  what  shall  it  be?" 

"Oh,"  said  I,  smiling,  "a  cat  or  a  whale." 

"Well,  young  folks,"  said  the  doctor,  turning  to  the  class,  "can  you 
tell  me  anything  of  that  great  fish,  the  whale?" 


THIRD  VOYAGE  TO  SOUTH  AUSTRALIA,  TEACHING  IN  ADELAIDE.     547 

Up  went  all  hands,  and  "please,  sir,"  came  from  more  than  one, 
"the  whale  is  not  a  fish." 

"What  then?"   queried  the  doctor. 

"It  is  an  animal  with  lungs  to  breathe  the  air,  with  a  double  circula- 
tion, and  it  belongs  to  the  class  mammalia." 

The  doctor  asked  me  to  examine  the  children ;  when  I  had  finished, 
he  addressed  the  class,  and  said : 

"I  confess  that  you  know  more  about  the  whale  than  I  do.  Had 
your  teacher  asked  me  the  questions  she  asked  you,  I  could  not  have 
answered  her." 

I  asked  the  class  to  note  the  doctor's  confession.  Of  course  these 
examinations  passed  off  with  great  eclat,  seeing  tlie  scholars  knew  more 
about  their  studies  than  either  doctor  or  minister.  I  determined 
that  I  would  myself  invite  competent  examiners,  who  were  not  only 
scholars,  but  educators,  to  come,  and  thoroughly  examine  my  school. 
I  wanted  those  who  could  judge  what  children  ought  to  know,  and 
who  knew  how  to  draw  it  out  of  the  children.  Therefore,  I  asked,  as 
a  favor,  the  Messrs.  Whinnam,  father  and  son,  principal  and  professor 
of  the  Grammar  School,  N.  A.,  to  examine  my  school.  They  con- 
sented with  pleasure,  and  came  to  our  June  examination.  The  chil- 
dren were  all  in  place.  They  were  to  be  truly  tested  as  to  what  they 
knew,  and  to  be  compared  with  other  children  of  their  class  in  other 

schools.     I  had  Scripture  lessons  every  morning,  and  Mr.  H ,  who 

was  secretary  to  Mr.  Angas,  and  a  preacher,  examined  the  whole  school 
on  Bible  lessons  for  nearly  two  hours.  The  Gospels  and  Acts  of  Apos- 
tles, Paul's  various  journeys  and  voyages,  with  the  geography  and 
topography  of  the  places,  were  the  subjects.  They  acquitted  them- 
selves to  my  entire  satisfaction,  and  surprised  the  examiner.  Mr. 
Whinnam  next  took  two  classes  in  grammar.  When  he  had  finished, 
he  addressed  them  thus : 

"Doys,  you  are  young,  and  when  Mrs.  Davies  asked- me-to  examine 
you  in  grammar,  I  did  not  think  you  could  know  much  about  that 
study;  but  your  knowledge  of  it  astonishes  me,  and  you  understand 
everything  you  have  learned,  I  must  say  again,  that  you  astonish  and 
please  me,  especially  as  you  have  not  learned  from  books,  nor  do  you 
repeat  by  rote.  Tet  me  tell  you,  I  have  had  young  gentlemen  come 
to  my  school,  as  tall  as  myself,  from  other  high  schools,  to  finish  with 
me,  and  they  have  not  known  as  much  grammar  as  you  do,  though 
they  have  been  studying  books  for  a  long  time.  I^Tiuh  labor  must 
have  been  expended  upon  you ;  but  you  have  acquitted  yourselves  far 


548  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

beyond  my  expectations,  even  were  you  much  older  than  you  are." 

Some  of  these  children  knew  nothing  when  they  came  to  school; 
however,  I  held  out  every  inducement  for  them  to  learn,  and  to  try  to 
excel  in  what  they  did  learn.    They  were  next  examined  on  arithmetic, 

and  Mr.  W commenced  in  simple  numbers.     I  asked  him  to  go 

higher,  as  the  boys  were  smiling  at  such  easy  work.  They  answered 
every  question  however  difficult.  His  praise  of  them  was  unqualified. 
While  he  was  telling  them  of  his  pleasure  and  astonishment,  I  placed 

a  difficult  problem  on  the  blackboard.     Mr.  W was  asked  to  try 

the  boys  on  that.      He  said: 

"I  will  with  pleasure;  but  I  do  not  expect  them  to  do  it." 

They  led  him  through  every  step  to  a  correct  solution,  without  the 
least  difficulty  or  hesitancy.  The  children  in  everything  gave  high 
satisfaction,  and  astonished  the  examiners,  who  said  they  had  exam- 
ined many  schools  in  the  colony,  which  had  higher  pretensions,  and 
older  scholars  from  the  best  families,  and  not  one  of  them  had  passed 
such  an  examination.  Two  things  I  learned  from  the  gentlemen's  re- 
marks :  first,  that  the  schools  of  South  Australia  were  inferior  to  those 
in  New  South  Wales;  and  that  poor  men's  children  with  proper  train- 
ing could  learn  as  well  as  those  of  the  rich  men. 

I  had  difficulties  to  contend  with  here  as  elsewhere.  One  was  the 
continual  coming  and  going  of  the  children,  and  their  not  staying  long 
at  a  time.  From  certain  quarters  I  had  persistent  opposition,  and  obsta- 
cles thrown  in  my  way,  in  order  that  I  should  not  teach  these  poor  chil- 
dren so  much,  just  because  they  were  poor,  and  could  not  pay  at  a 
high-priced  school.     I  said  once : 

"I  shall  teach  these  children,  just  because  they  are  poor,  all  and 
everything  they  can  learn  in  the  time  they  are  allowed  to  remain  at 
school.  Their  poverty  shall  not  lie  in  their  way  to  advancement.  I 
wish  them  to  stand  high  among  their  peers.  I  do  not  wish  to  take 
them  out  of  the  sphere  in  which  God  has  placed  them,  but  to  make 
them  useful  in  it.  Hence  all  my  energies  shall  be  bent  to  train  and 
instruct  them  intellectually,  morally  and  religiously." 

Mr.  Angas  wrote  me  a  very  kind  letter,  congratulating  me  on  the 
success  of  our  school,  and  his  great  pleasure  at  having  the  report  of 
the  Messrs.  W . 

"I  now,"  said  he,  "have  the  pleasure  to  enclose  my  check  for  ^20 
sterling  ($100),  as  a  donation,  and  an  evidence  of  my  high  appreciation 
and  approval  of  your  efforts  to  benefit  the  young  of  the  surrounding 
neighborhoods." 


THIRD  VOYAGE  TO  SOUTH  AUSTRALIA,  TEACHING  IN  ADELAIDE.     549 

All  this  was  pleasant,  but  my  strength  was  ebbing.  Any  extra  ex- 
ertion that  I  put  forth  affected  my  head.  At  times,  when  in  the  act 
of  giving  a  lesson  (my  lessons  were  oral),  or  an  illustration  on  the 
blackboard,  I  would  suddenly  become  unconscious  of  what  I  was  say- 
ing, and  to  keep  from  falling,  had  often  to  lie  down  for  a  few  minutes, 
then  up  to  my  work  again.  I  felt  what  the  doctor  had  said,  "this  will 
not  do."  Though  I  felt  ill,  I  disliked  to  give  up,  and  I  tried  in  every 
way  to  keep  up  without  going  to  bed.  I  had  to  consult  the  doctor  for 
my  head,  and  he  said  I  was  dangerously  ill ;  but  still  I  went  on  work- 
ing. I  felt  exceedingly  grateful  to  my  friends  at  this  time,  for  their 
kindness  to  me.  They  knew  not  how  ill  I  was,  or  how  much  I  needed 
kindness,  or  how  grateful  I  was  for  it.  The  Hon.  P.  Santo  and  young- 
est daughter,  Mrs.  Wm.  M ,  Hon.  W.  H.  and  Mrs.  Bundey,  were 

all  kind,  and  their  kindness  is  written  on  my  heart,  aad  also  registered 
in  heaven. 

Our  evangelist,  Mr.  Gore,  purposed  visiting  his  relatives  in  America. 
I  wished  to  make  a  visit,  and  take  the  trip  to  America  with  him,  but 
did  not  see  a  way  in  which  to  leave  my  work  for  a  while.  There  were 
three  old  ladies  in  America  that  I  had  a  great  desire  to  see,  before  they 
had  finished  their  pilgrimage,  viz.:  Mrs.  Alexander  Campbell,  Mrs. 
John  Gano  and  Mrs.  Smith.  I  thought,  if  I  could  make  my  visit  at 
this  time,  my  wish  would  be  gratified,  and  my  health  restored.  I  found 
that  Mrs.  Gore  had  consented  to  accompany  her  husband.  I  felt  that 
I  had  a  good  opportunity  to  travel  with  friends,  and  I  wrote  to  Mr. 
Angas  to  ask  his  consent  to  my  going,  telling  him  of  my  twofold  object, 
viz.:  to  see  my  friends,  and  to  regain  my  health.  Mr.  A cheer- 
fully consented,  and  entered  into  my  plans  pleasantly.  Suddenly, 
from  some  cause,  however,  he  changed  his  mind.  He  wrote  to  me,  to 
say  he  thought  no  one  could  take  charge,  and  perform  the  duties  of 
the  establishment  but  myself,  and  I  had  better  postpone  my  visit  to 
some  future  day.  His  letter  was  kind,  but  the  chill  of  disappointment 
touched  my  heart.  I  wrote  to  him,  and  said  I  was  willing  to  remain 
at  my  post,  but  I  keenly  felt  the  disappointment.  As  I  had  felt  before, 
so  I  felt  now.  My  whole  head  was  sick,  and  my  heart  was  faint,  and 
grew  fainter  still,  but  I  worked  on.  I  went  to  consult  the  doctor  about 
the  strange  feelings  that  I  had. 

"As  your  friend,  as  well  as  your  physician,  I  advise  you  to  quit 
working  for  a  year,  and  go  somewhere,"  he  said. 

"Oh,  I  wish  I  could,  but  I  can  not,"  I  said. 

"Can  not!"  he  exclaimed.  "Then  in  three  months  you  will  be  in 
your  grave."  ' 


5^0  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

'  'I  must  then  die  at  my  post.  I  had  thought  to  go  to  America  with 
friends,  but  had  to  give  it  up." 

"As  you  value  your  life,  do  not  give  it  up.  You  must  give  up  work. 
I  told  you  nine  months  ago  you  were  working  too  hard,  you  could  not 
stand  it.  It  has  now  come  to  a  crisis,  and  you  must  quit  your  work 
entirely  for  a  time,  or  you  must  die  as  I  have  told  you ;  or  still  worse, 
you  might  have  a  disease  of  the  nerves  that  you  would  never  get  over." 

His  emphatic  manner  startled  me.     I  said : 

"You  have  diagnosed  my  case;  what  is  the  name  of  my  disease?" 

"We,  the  faculty,  call  it  brain  fag;  and  your  brain  must  rest,  for 
you  are  in  danger." 

I  asked  him  if  he  would  testify  on  paper  what  he  had  said  to  me. 
This  he  did  at  once  by  writing  out  a  certificate.  This  I  requested,  as 
there  were  some  who  did  not  understand  my  case,  or  the  danger  I  was 
in,  and  I  could  not  tell  them.  I  again  wrote  to  Mr.  Angas,  and  in- 
closed the  following  note : 

Mrs.  Davies  has  consulted  me  about  the  state  of  her  health.  She  is  suffering 
from  an  over-wrought  brain  and  body.  Cessation  of  the  labors  which  have 
brought  about  this  condition  I  think  absolutely  necessary.  I  have,  therefore, 
advised  her  to  discontinue  her  school  duties.  Andrew  Millar,  M.  D. 

Franklin  Street,  Adelaide,  gtk  March,  1874. 

He  now  saw  the  necessity  of  the  case,  and  willingly  consented  to 
my  stopping  work,  but  was  sorry  for  the  occasion  of  it.  The  excite- 
ment consequent  on  trying  to  find  a  lady  competent  and  willing  to 
take  charge  of  my  school  and  premises  for  one  year;  selling  off  part 
of  my  furniture;  packing  up  my  books  and  other  valuables  that  were 
to  remain  till  my  return,  and  preparing  for  my  voyage,  was  almost  too 
much  for  my  tortured  nerves.     Oh,  how  I  wished  for  rest! 

♦'Father,  when  o'er  my  trembling  heart 

Doubt's  gathering  shadows  brood ; 
When  faith  in  thee  almost  departs. 

And  gloomiest  fears  intrude, 
Forsake  me  not,  O  God  of  grace. 

But  send  these  fears  relief. 
Grant  me  again  to  see  thy  face ; 

Lord  help  mine  unbelief." 

One  morning  as  I  went  into  the  school-room  a  number  of  the  pupils 
were  standing  on  the  floor.  As  I  passed  in  they  closed  round  me, 
and  one  of  them  read  this  paper : 


THIRD  VOYAGE  TO  SOUTH  AUSTRALIA,  TEACHING  IN  ADELAIDE.     55  I 

Dear  Mrs.  Davies : — We,  your  scholars,  are  very  sorry  you  have  to  leave  us  on 
account  of  your  health.  We,  therefore,  hope  that  when  you  return  from  this 
long  trip,  which  you  are  about  to  take,  you  will  be  in  good  health,  and  we  also 
hope  that  when  you  return  you  will  find  as  many  children  at  school  as  there  are 
now.  We  wish  to  make  you  this  small  present,  to  show  you  our  gratitude  for 
the  manner  in  which  you  have  taught  us,  and  the  trouble  you  have  taken  to  train 
us  to  be  good  children  and  good  scholars. 

We  remain,  dear  Mrs.  Davies,  your  affectionate  pupils, 

Agnes  Dalylish,  in  behalf  of  the  school. 

The  parting  gift  was  an  elegant  ring ;  one  large  opal,  two  emeralds, 
and  two  amethysts,  handsomely  set  in  Australian  gold.  I  was  sur- 
prised and  deeply  moved  by  this  token  of  kindness  and  love  from 
these  children.  I  thanked  them  with  broken  voice.  All  of  them  said 
they  would  pray  for  me  every  day,  and  read  a  chapter,  and  commit 
some  verses  every  day,  till  my  return.  This  they  thought  would 
please  me,  and  so  it  did,  as  I  knew  they  were  in  earnest.  And  these 
were  some  of  the  wildest  and  most  turbulent  spirits  I  had  to  deal  with 
at  first.  I  wept  sore  at  parting  with  my  children ;  for  the  thought  oc- 
curred to  me  that  I  might  see  them  no  more  forever.  I  committed 
them  all  to  God,  took  the  parting  hand,  and  spoke  the  word,  farewell! 

Mr.  Angas'  secretary  thought  I  ought  to  bind  myself  to  return  in  a 
year.  I  told  him  that  was  my  purpose,  if  I  Hved  and  had  no  provi- 
dential hindrance.  He  said  I  ought  to  write  a  letter  to  the  effect  that 
I  would  return  on  the  day  twelve  months  after  my  departure.  I  said 
to  this  very  exact  man,  with  a  grim  smile  : 

"Suppose  I  am  within  sight  of  the  port  a  day  before  the  time,  and 
baffling  winds  keep  me  from  landing  till  the  day  after  the  time,  what 
then?" 

I  said  that  I  was  willing  to  do  everything  that  was  right,  but  my 
poor  head  was  not  capable  of  writing  any  kind  of  letter  of  agreement. 

The  least  excitement  made  me  worse.    Mr.  H wrote  a  document, 

and  I  put  my  signature  to  it.     I  wrote  a  short  note  of  farewell  to  Mr. 
Angas,  to  which  he  replied  as  follows: 

Z^c-az-il/Wa/w;— I  received  your  kind  letter  of  15th  inst.  ♦  *  *  I  suppose 
you  have  been  connected  wiih  the  management  of  the  school  at  Bowden  for 
more  than  three  years,  during  which  time  you  have  conducted  that  large  estab- 
lishment with  great  skill  and  judgment,  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  concerned,  in 
the  intellectual,  moral  and  religious  education  of  the  lower  classes,  while  your 
personal  residence  at  Bowden  has  been  exercising  an  important  influence  for 
good  over  the  people  in  the  neighborhood,  I  trust  that  you  will  enjoy  a  safe 
voyage  out  and  home  again,  and  obtain  in  the  United  States  much  valuable  In- 


552  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

formation  that  may  be  imparted  to  others  after  your  return  to  Bowden,  where 
you  will  be  most  cordially  received  by  all  those  who  have  been  benefited  by 
your  residence  amongst  them.  Praying  the  Lord  to  have  you  under  his  protec- 
tion until  we  see  you  again, 

I  am,  dear  Mrs.  Davies,  yours  truly,  Geo.  F.  Angas. 

April  jS,  1S74. 

The  night  before  we  took  ship  to  Melbourne — Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gore, 
Mr.  Mark  Colhs  and  myself — the  church  had  a  tea-party,  at  which 
were  many  friends  from  the  country,  who  had  come  to  give  the  part- 
ing hand  to  the  intended  voyagers.  It  was  a  dreadful  night  to  me.  I 
had  been  threatened  with  death  or  a  life-long  disease.  This  was  the 
third  time  I  had  to  leave  the  colony  with  death  staring  me  in  the  face. 
No  one  in  that  crowd  knew  what  I  suffered  mentally  that  night.  I  did 
not  know  whether  I  could  live  till  I  reached  America,  but  I  wished  to 
be  on  the  sea.     Next  day  a  large  crowd  took  the  train  to  the  port  to 

see  the  voyagers  set  sail.     Mr.  W.  M drove  me,  with  one  or  two 

others,  to  the  ship.  Friend  after  friend  took  the  parting  hand,  and 
when  the  ship  loosed  from  her  moorings,  I  sat  as  one  bereft  of  all 
sensation.  I  shed  no  tears  when  I  saw  friends  receding  from  view ; 
my  tears  were  all  gone  and  the  fountain  dried  up.  "Help,  O  Father. 
Strengthen  the  fainting  heart,"  was  my  prayer. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

VOYAGE   TO   AMERICA. 

The  vessel  soon  began  to  roll  about  when  she  reached  the  gulf;  we 
began  to  look  pale  about  the  lips,  and  Mrs.  Gore  and  myself  went 
down  to  our  berths  while  yet  we  were  able  to  walk.  The  vessel 
bounded  over  the  billows,  but  I  cared  little  for  the  tossing.  I  went  on 
deck  but  once  on  our  voyage  to  Melbourne.  It  was  a  singular  coinci- 
dence that  four  years  before  Mr.  Bundey  was  a  fellow-passenger  to 
Adelaide,  and  now,  when  I  was  leaving  Adelaide,  he  was  again  my 
fellow-passenger.  As  he  and  Sir  Richard  Hanson,  Judge  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  and  some  other  distinguished  lawyers,  were  about  to 

land,  I  came  on  deck  to  say  good-bye  to  Mr.  B .     We  landed  at 

Melbourne  without  accident,  remained  a  week,  and  heard  Bro.  Martin 
preach.  He  was  another  American  evangelist  who  had  been  sent  for, 
and  he  was  hard  at  work.  Mrs.  Gore's  father-in-law,  Mr.  Santo,  and 
a  sister,  came  to  Melbourne  with  them,  and  parted  with  us  when  we 
reshipped  for  Sydney,  New  South  Wales. 

Again  a  rough  sea  and  a  rolling  ship  sent  us  to  our  berths.  We 
were  very  sick,  and  kept  our  beds  till  we  reached  Sydney  Heads, 
when  a  fearful  storm  came  on ;  but  we  got  inside  the  harbor  and  were 
safe,  though  the  storm  raged,  and  we  landed  in  the  midst  of  thunder 
and  lightning  and  rain.  I  went  to  a  hotel  the  first  night,  as  no  one 
knew  of  my  arrival.  After  that  I  sojourned  at  my  old  friend  Mr. 
Dixon's,  and  was  handsomely  entertained  for  the  remainder  of  my 
stay  in  Sydney.  Mrs.  Dixson  placed  her  carriage  and  driver  at  my 
disposal,  so  I  went  here  and  there,  and  made  good  use  of  my  time. 

At  the  Department  of  the  Council  of  Education  I  sent  up  my  card 
to  Mr.  Wilkins.  He  was  delighted  to  see  me.  He  sent  a  messenger 
to  tell  of  my  advent  to  my  two  friends  and  former  respected  inspect- 
ors. We  were  all  glad  to  see  each  other.  They  said  when  I  returned 
from  the  States  they  would  not  allow  me  to  go  bark  to  Adelaide  again. 
I  spent  a  pleasant  day  with  each  of  their  families.  I  took  a  boat, 
crossed  the  ferry,  hired  a  carriage,  and  drove  up  to  North  Sydney, 
my  old  pioneer  ground.      I  visited  the  school  first.     As  I  looked 

(553) 


554  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

round  the  well-filled  room,  I  saw  faces  that  I  knew.  Four  years,  how- 
ever, had  made  a  great  change  in  the  size  of  the  little  ones ;  they  had 
grown  large,  and  the  larger  ones  had  left.  The  master  was  engaged 
and  I  did  not  like  to  interrupt,  but  when  through  with  his  lesson,  I 
asked  some  of  the  children  if  they  knew  me  ? 

"O  yes;  our  former  mistress." 

"What!"  said  the  master,  "are  you  the  lady  who  built  this  house 
and  established  this  school,  and  of  whom  I  have  heard  so  much?" 

"I  am  she." 

He  invited  me  to  spend  the  day  with  them  and  become  acquainted 
with  his  wife ;  she  would  be  so  happy.  I  said  I  had  but  a  few  min- 
utes to  stay;  he  must  excuse  me,  I  had  to  drive  round  the  village.  So 
I  bowed  good-day  and  drove  round.  I  saw  several  new  houses  and 
strange  faces.  A  new  chapel  had  been  built.  The  inhabitants  had 
grown  to  six  hundred,  and  the  school-room  could  not  accommodate  so 
many.  The  place  had  gone  on  steadily  improving,  and  no  public 
house  or  drinking  saloon  had  as  yet  spoiled  the  village  with  its  pres- 
ence. Oh,  how  it  gladdened  my  heart  when  I  heard  some  of  the 
people,  while  talking  of  the  improved  state  of  things,  say : 

"You  have  done  it  all;  had  God  not  put  it  into  your  heart  to  come 
to  this  unbroken  wilderness  twelve  years  ago,  amongst  such  a  bad  lot 
of  us,  what  would  have  become  of  us?  what  would  have  become  of 
us?  Where  would  our  children  have  been?  Oh,  think  of  it;  God 
will  bless  you  sure." 

"I  hope  so,"  said  I,  while  grateful  tears  filled  my  eyes. 

I  heard  good  accounts  of  all  my  former  pupils;  some  more  of  them 
had  married,  and  some  of  the  little  ones  were  still  at  school.  I  could 
not  stay  long  with  these  grateful  people.  I  hoped  God  would  keep 
them  from  evil.  I  left  them  with  a  promise  that  when  I  returned  I 
would  pay  them  a  longer  visit.  I  called  on  Dr.  Ward,  who  had  been 
so  kind  to  me,  the  sick  stranger. 

I  was  glad  to  see  everybody,  if  but  for  a  few  minutes.  Bro.  Green, 
who  had  built  up  a  Christian  Church  at  Sydney,  had  gone  to  Victoria, 
and  at  present  they  had  no  preacher,  till  the  one  they  had  sent  for 
from  America  should  come.  The  church  had  a  tea-party,  at  which  I 
met  several  of  my  Baptist  friends,  who  had  come  over  to  our  ranks 
after  reading  Mr.  Campbell's  works,  and  studying  the  Bible  more. 
Yet  it  seems  hard  work  to  get  the  truth  to  prevail  at  Sydney,  all  pow- 
erful as  it  is.  I  hope  the  day  is  not  far  distant,  when  the  people  will 
respond  to  the  gospel  call. 


VOYAGE  TO  AMERICA.  555 

On  the  9th  of  May,  we  went  on  board  the  S.  S.  City  of  Adelaide, 
Mr.  Brown,  master.  As  soon  as  we  boarded  this,  our  third  ship,  I  re- 
marked to  Mrs.  G ,  that  Captain  Brown  had  command  of  our  last 

ship.  He  overheard  my  remark,  and  came  to  us,  and  explained  why 
he  had  been  transferred.  He  proved  a  very  pleasant,  kind,  and  oblig- 
ing commander. 

Just  before  sailing,  two  of  my  North  Sydney  pupils,  one,  the  boy  who 
had  cheered  me,  while  in  Australia,  with  his  letters;  the  other,  his 
sister,  brought  me  a  great  basket  of  oranges  to  eat  on  the  voyage.  I 
handed  over  to  the  stewardess  several  dozen,  and  many  more  to  the 
sick  passengers.  Robert,  a  tall,  genteel-looking  youth,  put  a  letter 
into  my  hand,  saying, 

'Tlease  read  that  after  you  sail,"  and  then  the  brother  and  sister 
left  me  to  sail  away  over  the  Pacific  once  more.    The  letter  ran  thus : 

JMv  dear  Mrs.  Davies : — I  expect  in  a  few  hours  you  will  have  sailed  away  from 
our  shores,  and  have  taken  the  last  look  of  them  for  many  months.  I  purpose 
writing  to  you  every  mail.  *  »  *  I  am  thinking  of  all  your  kind  deeds  to  us, 
and  the  ill-treatment  you  received  at  our  hands,  when  you  came  to  us  first.  You 
left  us,  now  you  are  leaving  Australia.  All  things  work  together  for  good  to 
them  who  love  God.  In  years  to  come,  I  shall,  as  I  do  now,  look  back  to  the 
happy  period  of  my  life,  which  was  spent  under  your  guidance  and  tuition,  and 
however  numerous  the  friends  I  may  gain,  you  may  rest  assured  that  my  earliest 
and  best  friend,  who  sought  us  out,  and  came  amongst  us  at  North  Sydney,  shall 
never  be  forgotten.  Nothing  remains  for  me  now,  but  to  express  my  heart-felt 
thanks  for  what  you  have  done  for  me,  and  to  pray  that  you  may  experience  un- 
interrupted health  and  happiness  till  your  return  to  us,  and  I  assure  you,  I  shall 
ever  remain,  my  dear  I^Irs.  Davies,  Yours  sincerely, 

RoBT.  McLelland. 

What  worked  the  wondrous  change  in  the  hearts  and  lives  of  the 
young  people  of  North  Sydney?  what  enlightened  their  darkened  un- 
derstandings? "Hail,  sacred  truth!  thy  piercing  rays"  have  enlightened 
the  sin-stained  soul.  It  was  thy  friendly  word,  dear  Lord,  that  aided 
me  in  my  arduous  task.  It  is  a  glorious  word;  it  sheds  a  luster  all 
around.  It  is  a  lamp  to  the  feet,  and  a  light  to  the  path.  Without 
the  Bible  I  should  have  been  powerless  for  good  at  North  Sydney. 
Gracious,  merciful  Father,  forbid  that,  while  I  bring,  or  try  to  bring, 
others  to  Christ,  I  shall  be  a  castaway  myself. 

We  were  breasting  the  billows,  and  bending  toward  the  Fiji  Islands, 
which  lie  near  South  latitude  15°,  and  180°  East  longitude.  Here  we 
were  to  meet  a  ship  from  New  Zealand,  that  was  to  take  us  toSan 
Francisco.    As  we  nearcd  this  group,  I  was  much  interested  in  looking 


55^5  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE.  ' 

for  the  coral  reefs.  I  could  see  away  in  the  distance  a  black  speck, 
Avith  a  belt  of  foam  encircling  it.  On  a  nearer  approach,  we  saw  the 
conical  island  of  Kandavan  sitting  in  the  midst  of  a  lagoon  of  smooth 
water,  and  that  surrounded  by  a  coral  reef,  over  which  the  waters  of 
the  Pacific  were  breaking,  covering  the  encircling  reef  with  foam.  We 
found  the  opening  in  the  reef,  and  entered  the  lagoon,  and  anchored 
near  a  ship  of  war  of  Her  Majesty's,  which  was  stationed  here.  The 
branching  coral  is  of  rarest  beauty,  tinting  the  water  with  the  most 
brilliant  hues  of  pink,  purj^le,  green  and  yellow  reflections.  The  soil 
of  this  group  is  luxuriantly  fertile,  and  a  soft,  delicious  atmosphere  rests 
over  it.  The  air  is  loaded  with  the  fragrance  of  aromatic  shrubs  of  a 
tropical  clime.  Five  kinds  of  cocoanut,  and  seven  kinds  of  bread  fruit, 
plantains,  pawpaws,  bananas,  and  other  kinds  of  tropical  fruits  grow  in 
abundance.  Vegetation  rich  and  rank  grows  down  to  the  water's  edge. 
No  need  of  chattering  monkeys  to  climb  the  tall  palm  trees  to  gather 
the  fruit;  the  little  naked  humans  were  equal  to  the  situation,  and  be- 
came it  well ;  monkeys  could  not  run  up  a  tree  faster,  or  hold  on  with 
fingers  and  toes,  and  even  with  teeth,  with  more  tenacity,  than  these 
children  of  the  tropics. 

We  let  go  our  anchor  on  Sunday  morning,  17th  of  May,  at  early 
dawn.  We  were  all  astir,  looking  out  for  the  other  ships,  but  they 
were  not  in  sight.  The  captain  asked  me  if  I  would  like  to  visit  the 
island;  if  so,  he  would  be  pleased  to  take  me  in  his  gig.  I  certainly 
wished  to  see  the  island,  and  gladly  accepted  his  kind  offer.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Gore  and  some  others  put  off"  in  the  gig;  but  in  crossing  the 
opening,  the  rush  of  water  from  the  ocean  caused  a  great  commotion, 
and  the  gig,  being  overloaded,  was  in  danger.  The  large  pilot  boat 
was  hailed,  and  we  all  clambered  into  it.  It  had  a  deck,  and  the  ladies 
sat  down  on  it.  There  were  no  seats,  and  only  a  rail  for  a  bulwark, 
against  which  the  gentlemen  leaned.  A  grave,  dignified  old  gentle- 
man stood  opposite  to  me.  The  little  vessel  gave  a  tremendous 
lurch.  The  water  swept  over  the  deck,  and  the  old  gentleman  let 
go  his  hold,  and  fell  forward  on  his  knees  beside  me.  I  thought 
he  was  hurt,  but  the  position  was  so  ludicrous,  I  had  to  laugh. 
We  all  laughed  at  Lord  Charles  Harvey  being  on  his  knees  by 
me.  Thus  we  were  introduced,  and  we  became  very  good  friends. 
The  water  became  shallower  as  we  neared  the  shore;  we  then  left  the 
pilot  boat,  and  went  nearer  the  land  in  canoes.  The  canoes  were 
trunks  of  trees  hollowed  out.  Mrs.  Gore  and  myself  were  perched  on 
one  of  these  frail  floaters,  with  two  of  the  stalwart  Fijians  wading  knee 


VOYAGE  TO  AMERICA.  557 

deep  piloting  the  canoe  over  the  coral  bottom.  Finally  the  canoe 
rested  on  the  coral  points,  and  could  float  no  nearer  to  the  shore.    We 

had  no  sooner  stopped,  than  one  of  the  savages  picked  up  Mrs.  G , 

and  carried  her  off  toward  the  shore.  Another  laid  strong  hands  on 
me,  but  I  refused  to  be  carried  in  the  like  fashion;  I  preferred  going 
back  to  the  ship.  The  captain  had  afforded  us  some  mirth  at  his  own 
expense;  when  we  saw  him  carried  on  the  back  of  one  of  these  dusky 
burden-bearers,  we  laughed  at  the  ludicrous  spectacle.  Now  he  deter- 
mined to  have  fun  at  our  expense.  He  sent  off  one  of  his  officers  to 
help  the  indignant  darky,  who  would  not  let  me  go.  They  two  made 
a  chair  for  me  with  both  their  hands,  on  which  I  sat.  As  I  suddenly 
drew  back  my  hand  from  the  naked  shoulder  of  the  savage,  I  lost  my 
balance,  and  should  have  fallen  backward  into  the  sea;  but  I  as  quickly 
threw  my  arm  round  his  neck,  and  held  him  fast,  to  the  infinite  delight 
of  the  captain,  who  laughed  and  clapped  his  hands.  We  were  all 
landed  safely  at  the  base  of  a  cone,  which  rested  in  the  water.  Two 
strong  natives  helped  us  up  the  face  of  a  rock  several  feet  high;  then 
we  climbed  to  the  top  of  the  cone.  From  the  apex  of  the  cone  we  had 
a  magnificent  view.  Several  cones  rose  sheer  out  of  the  lagoon,  and 
were  connected  by  narrow  isthmuses,  and  all  were  protected  by  the 
coral  wall,  which  bade  defiance  to  the  approach  of  the  ocean.  I  heard 
the  agent  say  there  was  a  church  service ;  but  that,  of  course,  no  one 
cared  to  hear  the  savages  preach.     This  was  a  mistake.     I  inquired 

the  way  to  the  chapel,  and  started  for  it.     Mrs.  G followed,  and 

so  did  several  gentlemen,  who  were  expecting  rare  sport  from  the  fright 
of  the  savages  at  the  appearance  of  the  elegantly  dressed  strangers. 
We  reached  the  enclosure  where  stood  the  modest  chapel,  about  sixty 
feet  long  and  twenty  feet  wide.  It  was  enclosed  by  a  wall  two  feet 
high,  made  of  twisted  straw  and  mud,  and  the  trunk  of  a  tree  on  each 
side  of  the  wall  formed  a  stile.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gore  and  myself  walked 
in  at  the  open  door,  and  sat  down  at  the  foot  of  the  pulpit  on  the  trunk 
of  a  tree,  that  supported  the  front  of  the  platform.  The  exquisites  of 
high  civilization  boisterously  jumped  over  the  wall,  and  rushed  to  the 
openings  of  the  chapel — it  had  no  doors.  They  were  brought  to  a 
stand-still  at  the  entrance  of  the  house.  The  sight  which  met  their 
eyes  said,  thus  far,  and  no  farther,  shall  ye  come.  The  rude  savages 
were  all  clothed,  men  and  women,  alike,  in  a  strip  of  calico  tied  like 
a  sash  around  their  loins.  They  were  a  la  Tun  on  the  mat-covered 
floor,  each  with  a  Bible  and  hymn-book  in  hand,  and  so  profoundly 
were  they  absorbed  in  the  preacher's  theme,  that  instead  of  taking 


558  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

flight  at  the  sight  of  the  strangers,  they  took  not  the  least  notice  of 
them.  The  latter  stood  at  the  doors,  uncovered  their  heads  before 
those  whose  undivided  attention  was  given  to  things  divine.  A  man 
of  darker  hue,  from  an  adjacent  isle,  was  the  missionary.  He  was 
reading  when  we  went  in.     When  through,  he  said, 

"Let  us  pray." 
.    Then  all  knelt,  and  a  few  prostrated  themselves.     A  hymn  was  sung. 
I  was  charmed  with  the  pathos,  power  and  melody  of  the  soft,  deep- 
toned  voices.     I  was  charmed,  though  I  did  not  know  a  word  of  their 
language. 

A  song  was  sung  to  the  tune  of  "Old  Hundred."     Mrs.  G and 

I  chimed  in,  but  we  were  soon  lost  in  their  grander  strains.  When 
the  preacher  read  a  chapter,  all  found  it  in  their  Bibles  and  followed  the 
preacher.  How  many  of  our  Christian  Churches  in  America  shall  we 
enter  and  find  every  member  of  the  congregation  with  Bible  and  hymn- 
book  in  hand,  ready  when  the  chapter  and  song  are  given  out  to  read  and 
sing?  How  many  Christian  men  and  women  anywhere  would  give 
their  undivided  attention  to  their  preacher,  while  a  dozen  of  these 
semi-nude  savages  walked  into  their  place  of  worship,  or  stood  around 
their  doors?  Our  dress  of  different  kinds  was  as  strange  to  them  as 
theirs  to  us  would  be,  and  why  should  these  dusky  sons  of  the  South- 
ern Seas  be  more  devout,  more  sincere  and  more  like  true  worshipers 
than  some  of  us  ?  I  think  in  other  things  we  could  learn  of  them. 
When  some  of  the  gentlemen  wished  to  have  cocoanuts,  the  children 
would  climb  to  the  top  of  the  tall  palms  with  alacrity,  place  a  nut 
under  each  arm,  descend,  and  present  the  nuts;  and  when  offered 
money  as  the  price  of  the  fruit, 

"No  trade  on  Sunday,"  said  the  savage,  and  no  money  was  received. 

Can  all  who  trade  in  our  country  say  to  their  customers,  "No  trade 
on  Sunday?" 

Another  lesson  we  could  take  if  we  would.  They  are  a  missionary 
people.  On  Monday  when  they  came  with  their  canoes  laden  with 
all  kinds  of  fruits,  shells,  native  cloth,  and  other  articles,  they  received 
high  prices  for  every  article  they  sold.  I  asked  what  they  did  with 
all  the  money  they  received,  as  they  did  not  need  it  for  clothing. 
I  was  told  all  they  earned  was  put  into  the  missionary-box,  and  that 
the  last  month  ;!£^40,  or  $200,  was  put  in  it.  I  hoped  that  these  sim- 
ple, Christianized  natives  would  never  become  civilized,  if  vice  was 
the  badge  of  civilization. 

The  pathway  uphill  was  difficult,  but  willing  feet  walked  beside  us. 


VOYAGE  TO  AMERICA.  559 

and  strong  arms  cleared  the  pathway,  pushing  aside  the  tall,  wet  grass, 
and  standing  on  it  till  we  passed.  These  men  are  no  longer  cannibals, 
but  good-natured  Christians.  They  are  great  swimmers,  and  live  much 
in  the  water.  It  was  quite  amusing  and  exciting  to  see  a  number  of 
boys  and  men  plunge  heels  over  head,  and  dive  to  a  great  depth  after 
a  piece  of  money  thrown  into  the  water.  The  most  expert  would 
catch  the  coin,  put  it  in  his  mouth,  rise  to  the  surface,  and  present  it 
to  the  person  who  had  dropped  it.  Of  course,  he  was  told  to  keep  it. 
About  a  dozen  divers  were  far  down  in  the  water,  and  we  were  all 
intently  watching  them,  when,  to  our  great  horror,  we  saw  a  huge 
shark  gliding  over  the  divers,  as  if  choosing  his  prey.  "A  shark!  a 
shark!"  was  shouted  from  stem  to  stern  of  the  ship. 

The  shark  is  a  coward,  though  fierce  and  voracious.  The  divers 
splashed  the  water  at  a  great  rate,  the  monster  darted  away,  then  re- 
turned to  be  again  fought  off  with  splashing  the  water,  till  all  the  men 
boarded  their  canoes  or  the  ship  in  safety.  The  scene  was  very  ex- 
citing. 

We  were  serenaded  by  the  crew  of  H.  M.  S.  Rosaria,  and  while 
listening  to  the  grand  vocal  and  instrumental  music,  we  saw  a  beauti- 
ful lunar  rainbow,  the  first  I  had  ever  seen.  We  had  another  pleasant 
visit  on  shore  on  Monday.  The  governor,  his  wife  and  two  daughters 
dined  on  board.  It  was  said  the  old  man  had  eaten  twelve  human 
beings  in  times  gone  by.  He  and  his  wife  were  huge  in  size,  coarse 
in  features,  and  the  ugliest  of  all  I  had  seen  at  Kandavau.  The  two 
girls  were  like  young  giantesses,  but  very  good  looking.  They  were 
dressed  for  the  occasion  in  short,  bright-colored  skirts,  with  low  bodies 
hanging  loose  round  the  waist.  The  old  couple  were  wrapped  up  in 
what  looked  like  sheets. 

Our  captain  was  anxiously  looking  out  for  the  ships  from  their  re- 
spective ports.  On  the  third  day  after  our  arrival  in  the  lagoon,  "Sail, 
ho!"  was  shouted  from  the  lookout,  and  we  saw  with  keen  interest, 
through  the  reef-builder's  opening,  the  ship  Tariarixom  San  Francisco. 
She  came  boldly  up  along  side  our  ship.  Again,  "Sail,  ho!"  was 
shouted  from  the  lookout,  and  in  sailed  the  ship  Cyphrenes  from  New 
Zealand.  She  came  along  side  also,  and  the  three  ships  were  firmly 
lashed  together.  We  visited  each  other's  ships,  and  we  met  on  board 
the  Tartar  Brother  and  Sister  Haly,  the  American  evangelist  that  tlie 
Sydney  Christian  Church  had  sent  for.  We  spent  a  few  pleasant  hours 
together.  Brother  and  Sister  Gore,  Brother  Collis  and  myself  were 
transferred  from  tlie  good  ship  City  of  Adelaide  and  her  pleasant  cap- 


560  THE  STORY  OF  AN  KARNEST  LIFE. 

tain,  to  the  Cyphrenes,  our  fourth  ship  since  our  voyage  began.  Good- 
byes were  spoken,  the  lashings  untied,  the  anchors  weighed,  the  ships 
parted,  and  all  three  steamed  out  beyond  the  encircling  belt  of  coral; 
then  each  went  on  her  way  to  a  different  point  of  the  compass. 

On  the  20th  of  May,  which  was  Wednesday,  we  sailed  from  Kanda- 
vau  at  noon.  The  next  day  it  was  still  Wednesday,  the  20th  of  May. 
Thus  we  had  two  Wednesdays  in  one  week,  and  two  2oths  of  May  in 
one  month.  We  were  in  the  antipodes  of  the  meridian  of  Greenwich, 
179°  18'  west  longitude,  14°  40'  south  latitude.  When  I  was  well 
enough  to  be  entertained,  I  had  no  lack  of  entertainers.  Lord  Chas. 
Harvey  was  a  missionary,  and  had  visited  almost  all  the  known  South 
Sea  Islands.  His  descriptive  powers  were  superior,  and  we  had  many 
a  long  conversation.  He  told  me  it  would  be  worth  my  trouble  if  I 
could  spend  one  or  three  months  at  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  visit 
every  one  of  the  group.  He  was  going  to  remain  there  for  some  time. 
He  preached  for  us.  Foster,  the  great  spiritualist,  thought  to  enter- 
tain me.  He  sat  opposite  to  me  at  table.  I  disliked  him  and  avoided 
him,  but  he  was  very  kind,  and  tried  to  be  attentive.  I  think  he  had 
an  idea  that  he  could  convert  me,  and  his  desire  to  do  so  was  very 
great. 

After  traveling  thousands  of  miles  without  seeing  anything  on  the 
waste  of  water,  at  last,  "land,  ho!"  was  shouted  from  the  maintop, 
and  we  entered  the  waters  of  the  Hawaiian  Group.  Expectation  was 
on  tiptoe.  It  was  a  mistake ;  for  as  we  looked  on  the  high  mountains, 
deep  glens,  and  picturesque  scenery,  all  vanished  in  thin  air.  The 
beautiful  clouds  had  deceived  us.  We  were  anxious  for  the  morrow's 
sun  to  show  us  land  sure  enough. 

At  midnight  our  propeller  ceased  its  incessant,  disagreeable  sound. 
The  ship  stood  still  about  three  miles  from  Honolulu.  The  crimson 
harbor  light  shone  out  conspicuously  among  the  many  buoy  lights 
which  marked  the  coral  reefs.  Before  daylight  the  natives  in  their 
canoes  passed  us  in  great  numbers  on  the  way  to  their  fishing  grounds, 
staring  at  us  and  our  great  ship  with  much  interest.  Presently  the 
burly  pilot  came  on  board  and  asked  the  significant  question, 

"Is  all  well?" 

The  response,  "All's  well,"  being  given,  he  took  charge  of  the  ship. 
We  were  approaching  the  beautiful  islands  which  Captain  Cook  dis- 
covered in  1778,  and  where  he  met  from  the  treacherous  natives  a  cruel 
death. 

Sunrise  on  the  Sandwich  Islands  presents  one  of  the  most  gorgeous 


VOYAGE   TO    AMERICA.  $6 1 

scenes  imaginable.  The  houses  of  Honolulu  nestle  amid  trees  of 
tropical  growth,  towering  in  beauty  above  them.  The  islands  have 
long  been  celebrated  for  their  rich  and  varied  productions.  Like  the 
Fijis,  they  are  surrounded  by  a  belt  of  coral  reefs,  rnd  just  inside 
of  the  breakers  that  dash  over  the  low,  sandy  beach,  and  spend 
their  strength  against  the  high,  basaltic  cliffs,  are  piles  of  lava  on  the 
shore.  Enormous  conical  craters  and  scoraceous  lava  indicate  that 
they  were  once  the  seat  of  active  volcanoes.  To  the  right  is  the 
D — 's  Punch-bowl,  an  object  of  great  curiosity.  It  is  an  extinct  vol- 
canic mountain,  perfectly  round;  its  sides  are  perfectly  barren;  the 
inside  is  quite  hollow,  forming  an  immense  bowl,  and  this  bowl  is 
filled  with  water,  the  best  kind  of  punch.  As  we  entered  the  narrow 
channel  in  the  reef,  we  saw  the  great  coral  wall  on  each  side  of  us, 
built  by  the  tiny  workers.  The  great  wall  of  China  can  not  compare 
with  it.  The  coralines  have  left  an  opening  wide  enough  to  allow  the 
three-winged  herald  of  Christianity,  civilization  and  commerce  to  enter. 
We  are  fairly  inside  the  wall,  and  the  rich,  pea-green  color  of  the 
lagoon  contrasts  beautifully  with  the  dark  blue  of  the  great  deep. 
The  line  of  reef  is  marked  by  the  breaking  of  the  sea  over  it  in  feath- 
ery foam,  which  sparkles  with  rainbow  tints  when  the  rising  sun  shines 
upon  it.  Beyond  this  fringe  of  foam,  beautiful,  but  dangerous,  lies 
the  vasty  deep.  The  semi-civilized  Sandwich  Islanders  are  a  curious, 
interesting  people.  Their  dress  is  like  that  of  tropical  birds,  of  bright 
hues.  The  men  wear  blue  pants  and  yellow  jackets,  or  red  or  green 
pants  and  blue  jackets,  and  red  kerchiefs  round  their  necks.  The 
women  are  no  less  conspicuous  in  their  brilliant  colors  and  costumes. 
The  color  or  material  of  a  dress  may  be  worn  to  suit  the  purse  or  taste 
of  the  wearer ;  but  the  fashion  or  form  is  the  same  on  all,  viz. :  a  l(|jig 
flowing  robe,  gathered  into  a  yoke  on  the  shoulders  and  hanging  loose 
therefrom.  This  dress  is  very  convenient,  as  these  brown  beauties, 
with  blue-black  hair  and  pearly  teeth,  are  great  equestrians,  and,  Mex- 
ican-like, straddle  the  saddle  when  riding.  They  are  fearless  riders. 
A  few  tawnies  were  allowed  to  come  on  board  with  their  delicious 
fruits  —  pineapples,  rose-apples,  plantains,  limes,  oranges,  quavas, 
strawberries,  cocoanuts  and  melons  of  every  kind.  They  were  very 
luscious  and  quite  acceptable  in  this  tropical  climate.  We  landed  and 
found  Honolulu  a  busy,  thriving  town.  The  principal  business  men, 
enterprising  Americans.  The  population  is  composed  of  English, 
Americans,  Chinese,  Hawaiians,  Samawaus  and  negroes.  Great  credit 
is  due  to  the  natives  of  this  group  of  islands.  They  embraced 
36 


^62  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

Christianity,  adopted  civilization,  its  habits  and  customs,  studied  the 
laws  of  the  great  nations  of  the  world,  and  abandoned  cannibalism. 
The  chiefs  gave  up  their  power,  and  the  tribes  ceased  to  envy  and 
fight  one  another.  They  formed  a  new  government,  a  limited  mon- 
archy, electing  a  king  and  a  parliament.  The  city  has -quite  a  respect- 
able appearance.  The  architecture  is  good.  The  king's  palace, 
parliament  house,  town  hall  and  court-house  buildings  would  do  credit 
to  a  higher  civilization.  The  first  inquiry  on  landing  was,  where  are 
the  most  interesting  objects  to  be  found  on  the  island?  A  party  of 
six,  as  merry  as  a  May  morning,  hired  a  carriage  and  started  off  in 
fine  spirits  to  visit  the  wonderfully  interesting  valley  of  Pali.  Pali 
was  once  the  principal  goddess  of  the  Sandwich  Islanders,  and  every- 
thing sublime  was  associated  with  her;  hence  the  name  of  this  fearfully 
grand  place.  Molten  lava,  and  bundles  of  capillary  glass,  which  the 
natives  call  Pali's  hair,  are  here  found  with  basaltic  walls  of  tremend- 
ous height  and  grandeur. 

The  drive  between  two  parallel  ranges  of  mountains  is  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  that  can  be  imagined.  Gardens  on  each  side  of  the 
road  are  kept  by  Chinese,  and  are  irrigated  by  the  mountain  streams, 
which  render  them  fertile.  They  bloom  with  every  kind  of  richly- 
tinted  flowers.  The  beautiful  villas  in  the  midst  of  these  tropical  gar- 
dens, surrounded  and  sheltered  by  the  shade  of  the  plantain  and  cocoa- 
nut  trees,  were  pictures  of  rare  beauty  seldom  seen;  but  once  seen, 
never  to  be  forgotten.  The  tarra  plantations  were  quite  a  feature  of 
this  vale.  The  tarra  is  a  vegetable  somewhat  like  a  yam.  It  is  beaten 
by  the  natives  into  a  pulp  called  pai,  which  is  the  principal  food  of  the 
people. 

*The  grand  attraction  is  Queen  Emma's  regal  residence,  or  her 
grounds.  They  are  beautifully  laid  out  and  kept.  In  a  colder  clime 
flowering  shrubs  make  out  to  grow ;  but  here  they  tower  into  trees, 
with  every  kind  of  beautiful  blossoms  on  them.  Litde  rivers  come 
splashing  and  dashing  down  the  mountain  sides,  then  ripple  through 
the  gardens,  fertilizing  them,  and  filling  the  tiny  lakes.  We  called 
to  pay  our  respects  to  Queen  Emma.  She  was  not  at  home;  but 
we  were  very  politely  conducted  through  the  grounds  by  the  Chi- 
nese gardeners.  But  with  all  their  beauty  and  attractiveness,  they 
are  not  so  attractive  to  travelers  as  the  head  of  the  valley.  After  a 
gradual  ascent  for  seven  miles,  we  reach  the  point  where  the  two 
mountain  ranges  converge  suddenly,  and  as  suddenly  diverge  from  each 
other  in  fanciful  shape  to  the  sea.     Having  alighted  from  our  carriage. 


VOYAGE  TO  AMERICA.  563 

we  walked  through  the  narrow  pass,  and  turning  round  a  corner  in  the 
path,  we  were  thrown  to  the  ground  by  the  force  of  a  mighty  wind 
from  the  ocean.  The  wind  fills  the  funnel,  and  then  concentrating  its 
force,  it  rushes  through  the  narrow  opening.  Our  sudden  prostration 
saved  us  from  danger  of  tumbling  over  a  precipice  si.x  hundred  feet 
high.  We  could  not  stand  upright;  we  could  not  lie  down  straight; 
nor  could  we  sit  still  in  any  position.  All  we  could  do  was  to  hold  to 
weeds  and  reeds  with  one  hand,  and  with  the  other  try  to  keep  our 
hats  on  our  heads,  and  our  ulsters  over  our  feet,  whilst  we  admired  the 
grand  scene  which  opened  to  our  view.  From  the  foot  of  the  perilous 
perch  on  which  we  sat,  to  the  sea  stretched  a  plain,  almost  three  miles 
widfe,  covered  with  a  most  beautiful  vegetation  of  luxuriant  growth;  then 
there  are  the  little  bays  and  capes,  indenting  and  projecting  along  the  line 
of  shore,  and  the  little  islets,  surrounded  by  the  green  waters  of  the  la- 
goon. These  again  are  surrounded  by  the  coral  belt,  with  its  sparkling 
fringe  of  foam,  and  beyond  this  lay  the  dark  blue  Pacific.  At  each 
side  of  us,  and  high  above  us,  stretching  to  the  lagoon,  and  enclosing 
the  plain  below,  frowned  the  precipitous  basaltic  walls  of  this  huge 
funnel.  We  rolled  ourselves  away  from  our  undignified  position. 
When  safe  out  of  the  fierce  current,  we  began  a  descent  on  a  mule 
track,  which  is  cut  on  the  face  of  the  solid  rock,  down  to  the  plain  be- 
low. In  coming  down  we  met  fresh  objects  of  interest — ferns,  the 
smallest  and  rarest,  and  fragrant  weeds  and  grasses.  The  ginger  plant, 
which  is  indigenous  to  the  island,  bears  gorgeous  yellow  flowers.  The 
Chinese  prepare  from  the  root  the  luxury  called  preserved  ginger. 
Wearied  with  our  walk,  we  rested  under  a  pine-apple  tree,  and  talked 
over  the  eventful  history  of  the  island.  On  the  very  spot  where  we 
sat,  a  most  tragic  and  bloody  scene  was  enacted  thirty  years  before. 
We  sat  there  in  1874.  The  father  of  the  present  king,  Kalakaua, 
came  on  the  island  with  a  number  of  savage  warriors,  and  a  desperate 
battle  between  them  and  the  islanders  was  fought  in  the  Pali  Valley. 
Most  of  the  defenders  were  killed,  and  the  remnant  driven  through 
the  narrow  pass,  and  over  the  dreadful  precipice.  For  years  their 
bones  lay  bleaching  in  the  sun.  We  thoroughly  enjoyed  our  trip  to 
the  Pali. 

We  were  reminded,  by  the  sun  dipping  toward  the  west,  that  we  had 
to  return  to  our  floating  home.  When  once  on  board,  I  told  Lord 
Charles  Harvey  how  much  I  had  enjoyed  my  visit  to  the  sublime  Pali. 
He  said,  if  I  could  stay  two  or  three  months  longer,  I  should  be  more 
than  repaid  by  seeing  the  active  volcanoes.     I  wished  that  I  could 


564  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

have  stayed,  as  Lord  Charles  was  about  to  visit  the  other  island  on  a 
missionary  tour.  He  was  a  most  agreeable  old  gentleman,  and  I  en- 
joyed his  conversation  much.  When  we  came  on  board  a  large  bou- 
quet, culled  from  the  choicest  flowers  in  Queen  Emma's  garden,  rich, 
rare  and  beautiful,  was  presented  to  me  by  Mr.  Foster.  He  said  he 
had  driven  out  to  the  queen's  garden  to  get  the  flowers  especially  for 
me.  I  admired  the  flowers  exceedingly,  thanked  the  giver,  and  handed 
them  to  the  steward  to  adorn  the  dining  table,  that  all  might  enjoy  them. 

Ere  we  left  the  shores  of  Oaha,  King  Kalakaua  and  his  brother 
came  dashing  down  to  the  wharf  in  a  splendid  turnout,  driving  two 
splendid  horses  with  silver-mounted  harness,  and  his  driver  in  hand- 
some livery.  They  came  on  board  to  say  good-bye  to  us.  To  be  a 
king  of  the  cannibal  islands,  I  thought  him  a  very  fine  specimen  of 
brown-skinned  humanity.  Perhaps  I  thought  so  because  he  took  off" 
his  hat  to  me  and  bowed.  He  was  tall  and  straight,  had  broad  shoul- 
ders, a  deep  chest,  and  hair  and  eyes  black  as  night.  His  dress  from 
head  to  heels  was  white;  his  tan-colored  gloves  were  the  only  colored 
part  of  his  dress;  his  hat  and  boots  were  white.  He  had  a  most  kingly 
air  as  he  paced  our  deck.  As  soon  as  he  went  ashore,  we  sailed  out, 
and  passengers  and  crew  gave  a  hearty  cheer  for  Honolulu,  and  the 
British  three  cheers  for  the  king,  to  the  intense  wonder  of  the  natives. 
We  were  all  delighted  with  our  shore  visit.  I  had  learned  a  new  lesson 
from  the  beautiful  pages  of  an  interesting  book  of  nature,  realizing  how 
bountiful  is  the  great  Creator,  who  with  lavish  hand  had  strewed  with 
beauty  these  isles  of  the  sea.  May  the  time  soon  come  when  true 
Christianity  shall  reach  and  spread  blessings  over  the  other  islands, 
equally  favored  by  nature  with  these. 

We  encountered  a  fierce  gale,  which  lasted  two  days;  the  waters 
heaved,  and  the  vast  sky  stooped  with  its  thunder;  cloud  on  cloud 
rolled  heavily  in  the  darkness.  The  roar  of  the  ocean  and  the  thunder 
were  very  awful,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  wild  tumult,  we  entered  the 
Golden  Gate.  Our  ship,  though  greatly  tossed  about,  anchored  in  the 
beautiful  Bay  of  San  Francisco  undamaged.  I  was  very  sick,  but  I  got 
up  and  packed,  ready  to  land.  My  trunks  were  examined  by  a  lady 
Custom  House  agent,  and  we  pa,  sed  out  of  the  ship  into  a  carriage. 
We  drove  to  the  Russ  House,  a  very  fine  hotel,  where  we  remained  a 
week.  On  the  eastern  side  of  the  continent,  when  I  left  New  York 
sixteen  years  before,  Mr.  Buckbee  was  the  last  friend  I  parted  with ;  and 
now,  on  the  western  side,  he  was  the  first  friend  I  met.  I  spent  a  few 
hours  with  him  at  his  house  in  San  Francisco. 


VOYAGE  TO  AMERICA.  565 

Mrs.  G and  self  went  out  shopping  one  da}',  but  found  every- 
thing much  more  expensive  than  in  AustraHa. 

A  Brother  Vincent  called  to  see  us,  and  to  tell  us  where  the  church 
met  on  Lord's  day.  I  enjoyed  the  worship  very  much.  We  dined 
with  Brother  Vincent's  family.  We  crossed  the  beautiful  bay,  and 
landed  at  Oakland,  and  spent  a  very  pleasant  day;  returned  to  the  city 
for  evening  service.  Brother  Gore  preached,  and  after  the  benedic- 
tion, a  preacher  rose  up,  and  asked  the  congregation  to  be  seated  a  few 
moments.  He  walked  down  the  aisle,  and  then  returned,  followed  by 
a  lady  handsomely  dressed,  but  without  a  bonnet,  leaning  on  the  arm 
of  a  gentleman.  This  sight  was  novel,  but  what  followed  was  still 
more  so.  When  the  preacher  reached  the  platform,  he  turned  round 
to  the  couple,  and  asked  the  gentleman: 

*'Do  you  take  this  woman  for  your  wife?" 

A  slight  bow  of  the  head  was  the  response. 

"Do  you  take  this  man  for  your  husband?" 

A  slight  bend  of  the  body  was  the  response. 

"Then  I  pronounce  you  man  and  wife." 

Could  anything  be  more  simple?  Thus  one  of  the  most  solemn  re- 
lationships of  life  was  entered  into,  a  beautiful  rite  performed,  in  about 
one  minute.     They  were  made  one;  may  they  ever  continue  so. 

The  Lord's  day  in  San  Francisco  is  not  kept  as  a  holy  day,  but  as  a 
holiday.  The  German  revelers  from  day  dawn  were  filling  the  street 
cars  at  every  point,  with  their  fishing  tackle  and  their  huge  lunch 
baskets,  and  bands  of  music  were  parading  the  streets,  all  seeking 
pleasure  of  the  most  godless  kind.  On  Monday  morning  great  cov- 
ered vans  may  be  seen  at  the  hotel  doors,  and  Chinamen  put  into  the 
vans  great  bundles  of  soiled  linen,  and  drive  off  to  the  laundry,  which 
is  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  Chinese.  Men  do  all  the  laundrying. 
These  washermen  look  almost  like  washerwomen,  with  their  long  cues 
coiled  round  their  heads,  and  their  long,  white  outer  garments  look  as 
if  they  were  preparing  to  go  to  bed.  The  whole  effect  is  very  odd. 

We  visited  Woodward's  Garden,  and  saw  there  much  to  interest  us. 
A  great  number  of  sea  lions,  camels  and  their  babies,  the  marine 
aquarium,  a  cow  with  five  legs,  the  fifth  growing  from  between  her 
shoulders.  Our  fellow-passengers  were  all  at  different  hotels,  and  we 
visited  one  another,  The  hotels  are  handsomely  furnished;  the  tables 
good;  the  waiters  obliging,  and  rates  reasonable. 

On  leaving  our  hotel,  the  obliging  proprietor  saved  us  much  trouble 
by  providing  a  large  lunch-basket  for  four  persons  on  the  long  over- 


566  ■  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

land  journey.  We  packed  up,  paid  our  fare  to  Cincinnati,  and  re- 
ceived our  coupons  to  that  place.  On  leaving  San  Francisco,  we  took 
boat  to  Oakland,  where  a  long  line  of  trestle-work  projects  into 
San  Francisco  Bay.  At  this  terminus,  we  started  on  our  long  over- 
land route.  In  the  construction  of  this  railroad  most  formidable  ob- 
stacles have  been  overcome.  The  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains,  long 
considered  a  barrier  over  which  no  railroad  could  pass,  have  been 
pierced  by  immense  tunnels,  their  deep  gulches  spanned  by  bridges, 
and  their  frowning  brows  grooved  for  the  railroad  track.  The 
dreaded  Rocky  Mountains,  with  their  precipitous  and  stern  elevations, 
were  climbed,  and  their  rugged  peaks  flung  into  torrents  below.  The 
greatest  altitude  of  this  line,  from  ocean  to  ocean,  is  at  Sherman's 
Pass,  Rocky  Mountains,  Wyoming  Territory.  It  is  a  great  notch  in 
the  ridge,  about  twenty  miles  wide,  and  about  8,000  feet  above  the 
sea-level.  The  Nevada  Pass  is  about  7,000  feet  above  tide-water.  At 
an  altitude  of  4,574  feet  above  the  sea-level,  the  first  tunnel  was  passed 
through.  I  was  told  we  had  to  double  Cape  Horn  in  the  Sierra  Ne- 
vada Mountains.  I  had  doubled  the  Cape  Horn  of  South  America, 
famous  for  its  storms ;  now  our  cars  ran  round  a  corner,  on  a  road  cut 
in  the  face  of  an  exceedingly  high  mountain,  with  the  American 
River  rushing  and  roaring  2,500  feet  below  our  train.  As  we  slowly 
wound  our  way  round  this  point,  I  looked  down  into  the  chasm  below. 
The  river  looked  like  a  silver  thread.  I  looked  up  to  the  snow-capped 
mountain  above,  but  its  summit  was  beyond  my  view.  The  erosive 
power  of  this  river  must  be  very  great,  as  the  steep  walls  and  depth  of 
the  chasm  show.  We  passed  through  forty  miles  of  snow-sheds, 
which  were  built  to  protect  the  road  from  snow-drifts.  The  snow 
lay  deep  along  the  road  in  some  places,  though  it  was  June.  We 
had  now  reached  the  roof  of  the  United  States.  It  stands  from 
5,000  to  8,000  feet  above  the  sea-level.  This  great  plateau  forms  a 
great  inland  basin  between  the  Nevada  Mountains  on  the  west,  and 
the  Rocky  Mountains  on  the  east,  and  it  is  surrounded  by  jagged 
mountain  peaks  and  broken  ridges,  which  form  the  rim  of  the  basin. 
The  rivers  of  Utah  and  Nevada  flow  into  the  lakes  of  this  basin- 
Great  Salt  Lake  and  others  are  all  salt.  No  rain  falls  in  this  region. 
The  country  is  a  desert,  bald,  bleak  and  dreary,  without  a  tree  or 
shrub  to  intercept  the  driving  snow  as  the  fierce  gale  sweeps  it  across 
the  plain.  We  passed  the  northern  end  of  the  great  Salt  Lake.  Pass- 
ing over  the  Alkali  Desert,  the  dust  was  imperceptible  while  suspended 
in  air,  but  when  it  settled  on  our  little  table  we  could  very  often  write 


VOYAGE  TO  AMERICA.  567 

our  names  on  it.     The  alkali  dust  penetrated  all  the  exposed  pores  of 
my  skin,  and  caused  me  much  discomfort  for  weeks. 

In  the  night,  when  busy  tongues  were  still  and  weary  eyes  were 
closed  in  slumber,  I  have  lain  in  bed  listening  to  the  deep-toned  voice 
of  the  engine-bell  as  it  peeled  forth  on  the  midnight  air  peal  after 
peal,  peal  after  peal,  until  the  circle  of  sound  seemed  to  reach  the 
horizon.     I  have  never  heard  anything  to  compare  with  it. 

At  Cheyenne  City  we  left  the  cars  for  a  short  time  to  buy  moss 
agates  that  boys  picked  up  on  the  pass  and  sold  to  travelers  at  their 
own  price.  When  I  was  returning  to  the  cars,  I  saw  an  oblong  box 
lying  across  the  platform  of  a  baggage-car.  I  read  the  printed 
letters  on  the  end  of  the  box  and  found  the  box  contained  a  male 
corpse.  A  feeling  of  awe  crept  over  me.  When  we  were  on  the 
move  again,  I  noticed  a  lady,  two  young  children,  and  three  gentle- 
me;i  that  I  had  not  seen  before.  One  of  the  gentlemen  was  playing 
with  the  elder  little  girl,  about  two  years  old,  at  a  window,  while  the 
mother  dressed  the  baby  of  a  few  months  old.  When  the  infant  was 
dressed,  one  of  the  younger  gentlemen  took  it,  and  though  it  was 
crying  he  soon  quieted  it,  and  they  were  all  soon  at  play.  It  puzzled 
me  to  know  which  was  the  father.  The  lady  spoke  to  me  about  some- 
thing, and  we  had  quite  a  chat  about  the  sweet,  pretty  children.  I 
asked  her  which  of  the  gentlemen  was  her  husband;  for  just  then 
they  were  all  having  a  fine  time.  She  said  neither  was  her  husband; 
they  were  perfect  strangers  to  her;  she  had  never  seen  them  till  they 
met  on  the  cars.  I  was  a  little  surprised  at  this,  and  I  asked  if  her 
husband  was  not  with  her  on  the  cars. 

"Oh  yes,  he  is  with  me,  but  he  is  on  one  of  the  other  cars"  (I 
thought  he  was  an  officer  on  the  train) ;  '-but,"  she  continued,  "he  is 
in  a  box,  and  I  am  taking  him  home," 

"Dead!"  I  exclaimed.  '' 

"Yes;  he  died  at  Santa  Barbara,  and  I  am  going  to  New  England. 
These  gendemen  are  very  kind  to  me." 

And  so  they  were.  These  three  were  young  English  officers,  going 
home  via  America.  I  heard  one  of  them  say  he  would  see  her  all  the 
way  to  her  home,  and  then  he  would  join  his  companions  at  New  York. 
Oh,  how  I  felt  for  this  poor  young  widow,  with  her  two  babies  and 
her  dead  husljand.  But  God  is  the  husband  of  the  widow  and  a 
father  to  the  fatherless.     They  were  in  his  hands. 

We  saw  on  the  side  of  a  mountain  in  the  Yellowstone  region,  what 
was  called  the  Devil's  Slide.     The  vertical  wall  was  1,500  feet  long, 


568  THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

125  feet  wide,  and  30  feet  high.  On  the  north  of  our  hne  we  could  see 
the  geysers;  they  were  numerous.  The  giant  Crater  Geyser,  the  Fan 
Geyser,  the  Grotto  Geyser.  Geysers  are  hot  springs  that  at  certain 
intervals  send  up  jets  of  hot  water  with  great  violence.  They  occur 
only  in  volcanic  regions.  The  name  is  derived  from  the  Icelandic 
word  gji'sa,  which  means  to  rush  forth  with  great  violence. 

The  park  reserved  by  government  is  the  largest  in  the  world,  being 
sixty-five  miles  long  and  fifty-five  wide ;  area  in  square  miles,  3,575. 
These  vast  public  grounds  are  under  a  commissioner  appointed  by  the 
President  of  the  United  States.  We  crossed  the  Missouri  River  at 
Omaha,  in  Nebraska,  on  a  magnificent  iron  bridge.  We  crossed  slowly 
and  seemed  suspended  in  mid-air. 

At  a  station  where  we  stopped  an  Indian  came  on  the  platform  and 
stood  by  our  window.  He  Avas  of  medium  height,  with  an  eagle-eye. 
His  mien  was  majestic.  I  drew  Mr.  Gore's  attention,  and  said  to 
him,  that  man  is  a  chief. 

"Pshaw,"  said  Mr.  G ,  "he  is  only  a  beggar." 

"That  man  is  no  beggar,"  said  I. 

Just  then  the  Indian  opened  his  cloak,  which  covered  him  from 
neck  to  heel,  and  concealed  the  full  dress  of  a  warrior.  He  was 
armed.     He  handed  me  a  paper.     Mr.  G laughed,  and  said : 

"I  told  you  he  was  a  beggar." 

I  read  the  parchment;  it  was  a  treaty  between  the  United  States 
Government  and  this  most  powerful  and  friendly  chief,  who  had  bound 
himself  to  protect  the  passengers  who  passed  his  way.     I  handed  to 

Mr.   G what  he  thought  was  the  Indian's  begging  paper.     The 

chief  handed  me  another  paper  from  an  army  general,  advising  all 
who  met  this  powerful  chief  to  treat  him  civilly,  as  he  had  proved  a 
great  friend  to  the  white  man,  and  it  behooved  all  to  retain  his  friend- 
ship. I  returned  the  documents  with  a  smile  and  a  bow,  and  a  "thank 
you,"  for  allowing  me  to  read.  He  neither  smiled,  spoke,  nor  moved 
from  the  position  he  had  first  taken  on  the  platform  till  we  left. 
Meantime,  three  of  his  braves  appeared  in  full  dress,  brandishing  their 
tomahawks  and  enjoying  themselves.  These  were  fine-looking  men. 
Other  Indians  came  near  on  horseback,  the  ugliest,  fiercest  red  men  I 
ever  saw.  Woe  betide  those  that  came  under  their  scalping-knives!  . 
I  was  gratified;  I  had  seen  Indians  in  their  native  state. 

The  prairie  dog  is  a  curious  little  animal,  -and  lives  in  villages.  He 
has  for  his  companions  snakes  and  owls.  We  passed  a  village,  or 
rather  a  city,  of  theirs;  for  it  was  of  great  size.     Many  acres  of  a 


VOYAGE  TO  AMERICA.  569 

plain  were  honey-combed  with  their  burrows.  Around  their  holes 
they  have  a  little  rim  of  earth  taken  from  them.  They  have  one 
of  their  number  always  on  the  watch,  and  as  soon  as  he  sees  any 
one  he  gives  a  yelping  cry  like  a  dog,  and  dives  down  into  his  hole. 
Instantly  the  villagers  are  all  out  of  sight.  But  the  little  creatures  are 
full  of  curiosity,  so  they  all  come  back  again  to  the  mouths  of  their 
burrows,  and  there  they  sit,  like  squirrels,  with  their  bright  eyes  look- 
ing everywhere. 

We  crossed  the  Mississippi  River  on  an  iron  bridge  between  Rock 
Island  and  Davenport.  It  was  a  pleasant  sight  to  see  green  grass  and 
trees  growing  after  the  arid  wilds  we  had  crossed.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Gore  remained  at  Chicago;  Mr.  Collis  came  on  to  Lexington.  In 
passing  through  Indiana  a  conductor  came  on  board  the  cars,  and  as 
usual  we  gave  him  our  coupons  to  tear  off  one  and  return  the  rest  to 
us.  He  put  them  all  in  his  pocket,  after  scrutinizing  them  very  close- 
ly, and  walked  away.  Our  coupons  all  being  kept,  we  thought  we 
were  near  our  journey's  end;  but  not  so.  At  another  station  an- 
other conductor  came  on  board,  and  demanded  our  tickets.  We  told 
him  we  had  given  them  to  the  other  conductor,  and  explained  to  him 
how  that  other  conductor  had  acted — that  we  had  come  from  Califor- 
nia, and  had  coupons  to  Cincinnati.  This  the  bullying  conductor 
affected  not  to  believe,  and  he  was  most  rude  and  insulting,  demand- 
ing our  tickets  or  our  fare.  I  asked  him  to  telegraph  back  to  the  last 
conductor  and  he  would  get  them.  The  abusive  language  this  fellow 
used  was  past  belief  Mr.  Collis  was  indignant,  and  turned  to  me 
and  said : 

"Is  this  a  specimen  of  your  American  gentlemen?  In  Australia 
they  would  not  dare  to  treat  strangers  in  this  way." 

I  had  been  lauding  all  the  American  men  as  gentlemen,  and  the 
women  as  ladies ;  but  I  did  not  claim  this  semi-barbarian  as  a  gentle- 
man. When  the  baggage  agent  came  to  change  our  checks  the  wily 
conductor  asked  to  see  them.  We  gladly  put  them  into  his  hand,  and, 
like  his  predecessor,  he  looked  at  them,  put  them  in  his  pocket,  and 
said: 

"Now  I  have  you.  You  shall  not  have  your  baggage  till  you  pay 
your  fare." 

I  could  not  understand  the  mean  trickery  of  these  railway  officials. 
In  the  cars  we  had  no  redress,  so  we  wore  dumb  with  astonishment. 
We  reached  Cincinnati  at  night,  and  saw  our  trunks  tumbled  out  of 
the  car.     My  trunk  lock  was  broken,  and  the  lid  open,  and  some 


570  THE  STORV  OF  AN  EARNEST  LIFE. 

finery  hanging  out.  That  was  an  extra  trunk,  and  I  paid  eleven  dol- 
lars for  its  safe  transit.  I  lost  more  out  of  it  than  its  carriage  cost. 
I  dared  not  go  near  my  trunk  to  secure  my  property ;  but  I  went  to 
the  office  of  a  railway  agent  and  told  him  our  dilemma,  and  asked 
what  we  ouglit  to  do ;  we  were  strangers,  and  did  not  know.  His 
advice  was  to  pay  our  fare  from  the  place  our  coupons  were  tiken, 
regain  our  baggage,  and  write  to  headquarters  about  the  conduct  of 

the  conductors.     We  did  as  advised.     Mr.  C attended  to  the 

writing,  and  our  money  was  returned.  I  was  advised  to  prosecute, 
but  nothing  could  compensate  for  the  insults  heaped  on  us,  so  I  let  the 
matter  pass. 

We  took  train  for  Lexington,  and  arrived  late  in  the  night.   I  stayed 

all  night,  left  Mr.  C next,  day  at  Lexington,  and  he  there  made 

arrangements  to  enter  the  university  to  prepare  for  the  ministry.  I 
went  on  to  Midway,  where  I  arrived  just  eight  days  from  San  Fran- 
cisco. Weary  and  travel-worn,  I  was  soon  among  friends,  who  were 
glad  to  see  me,  as  I  surely  was  to  see  them.  I  rested  here  to  have 
my  trunks  repaired,  and  here  I  saw  one  of  the  old  ladies  I  had  desired 
to  see  ere  she  passed  away.  She  has  since  gone  to  the  spirit  land.  It 
was  Mrs.  Smith.  A  friend  drove  me  thirty-six  miles  one  day  to  Cen- 
terville  to  see  another  one,  Mrs.  Gano  and  her  family.  I  then  took 
train  and  proceeded  to  Bethany,  to  see  the  third  old  lady  and  her  fam- 
ily, Mrs.  Campbell,  widow  of  the  greatest  and  best  man  I  ever  knew. 
I  visited  the  home  of  the  illustrious  dead  at  Bethany,  West  Virginia, 
where  Mr.  Campbell  was  first  married,  where  all  his  children  were 
born,  and  where  his  glorified  spirit  passed  from  time  and  his  much- 
loved  earthly  home,  to  eternity  and  the  mansions  of  the  redeemed. 
I  then  wended  my  way  to  the  quiet  resting-place  of  those  I  loved  and 
revered.  As  a  tribute  to  their  memory,  I  wove  three  garlands  and 
hung  the  fresh  flowery  wreaths  on  the  monuments  of  my  wee  pet  lamb, 
the  beautiful  and  sainted  Clarinda,  and  her  illustrious  father,  whom 
every  act  of  her  pure  life  tended  to  honor.  They  rest  in  peace.  I  had 
seen  Mrs.  Smith,  Mrs.  Gano  and  Mrs.  Campbell,  and  their  families ; 
I  was  gratified.    Now  my  second  voyage  round  the  world  was  at  an  end. 


THE  END. 


47  9 


xj 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

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